


When You Were Young

by Immortal_Magic_Freak



Series: An Eventful Summer [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2014-10-07
Packaged: 2018-02-20 07:05:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 34,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2419538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Immortal_Magic_Freak/pseuds/Immortal_Magic_Freak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When hunting the new 'big bad' in Beacon Hills, the pack have something worse to face. To put everything back to normal they have to find it and...well the book didn't say, but one of the others were bound to! While stuck like this, the werewolves start acting less and less like their usual selves, but Derek lets his real self show. But is it enough to confess everything to Stiles?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Why Is It Always Us?

**Author's Note:**

> Authors Note: HEYO! XD Please tell me what you think, I would love to know XD Please review XD
> 
> ALSO Teen Wolf has stopped playing over here in England :'( so we only go up to season 2 – so the last thing I saw was that Jackson became a werewolf – meaning I don't know anything that's happened since D':
> 
> I know a few people may have had similar ideas...but once I had the idea I HAD to write it :3
> 
> I own nothing and no one apart from the Filius

**Stiles **

"So...what are we looking for exactly?" I asked as we tracked through the forest, surrounding the rebuilt Hale house.

Derek glared at me, exasperated with me already. But hey, it was the first thing I said in _two whole minutes_! Derek looked like he was about ready to rip my head off - nothing new there –, so Isaac dragged me aside to explain what was going on. To be honest, all I was told was that a new big bad was in town and we had to get rid of it. I was told nothing else, so you can't blame me for asking. Quietly, Isaac told what we were looking for. The name of...whatever it was was a mystery to us. Apparently it was a rare breed of...some form of animal, or whatever, only few left in existence. None of Beacon Hills' resident wolves knew what it looked like, but it had the distinct smell of, _apparently_ , candy. That made me laugh, which earned me a growl of warning from Sourwolf. Slowly, my laughter died away, only leaving an amused grin in its place.

"The scent is different for everyone." Derek huffed. "Even humans can smell it."

"Well this gunna be fun, finding it, if it's different for everyone here." I commented.

"Shut up, Stiles."

"But..."

"Shut up!"

Wow, extra sour Sourwolf today. Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the cave. I sighed, deciding I'd rather not get slammed into a tree that afternoon. I hated the silence, even if the slightly howling wind and the crowing birds echoed through the air. I wanted to fill the silence, I _had_ to. ADHD mainly hyperactive-impulsive – which was the subtype I had – meant: I was unable to sit still, especially in calm or quiet surroundings; I was constantly fidgeting; I was unable to settle to tasks; I had excessive physical movement; I talked excessively; I was unable to wait for a turn – though this was the only one I _didn't_ have –; I acted without thinking; I interrupted conversations; had little or no sense of danger. This was me and I was proud of who I was. But right now, it was annoying me to no end. Trying to keep quiet and not annoy anyone made my skin crawl; made me feel sick and itchy. I lifted my right hand to scratch at the back of my neck and back, while my left did the same to my shoulders. I fidgeted uncomfortably as we all walked deeper into the forest.

I guess they could feel my discomfort since the wolves – Scott, Isaac, Erica, Boyd and Jackson – all turned to look at me curiously...all but Derek. Even the other humans – Allison, Lydia and Danny – turned to see what was going on with me.

"Dude, I thought this hasn't happened for years." Scott whispered – not that there was any use – falling in step beside me, referring to the itching.

"It hasn't." I replied, the need to itch subsiding slightly. "Before today, the last time sixth grade, our first day of Junior High. It hasn't happened since then."

"What's causing it this time, 'cause it sure isn't nerves."

"The silence makes uncomfortable, remember? I just need to talk or talk to someone, even if it's just quietly."

Scott's eyes widened in understanding.

"Oh, dude, yeah." Scott nodded. "The Dark Knight Rises is going to be an epic movie."

"Yeah it will!" I grinned.

We had a little while to go before the movie was released in the cinema. It was airing on July 16th – 2012 – and it was currently May 27th – 2012 – the _first actually day_ of summer vacation! So, yeah...we had a short while to wait before we could go see the movie. But it would be worth the wait!

* * *

As the ten of us continued walking deeper and deeper into the forest, Scott and I continued talking about Batman and other random topics. It did well to distract me, and we soon dragged Isaac into the conversation, the three of us geeking out together. It was fun; I enjoyed releasing my inner Fan Boy and just being able to geek without being judged – alone, anyway.

The three of us had just started debating who was better – Batman or Iron Man – when we heard it. It was a small howl of pain. Head snapping up, we all saw this... _thing_ latched in to Derek's shoulder, attached by its razor sharp teeth.

"What is that thing?" Lydia asked, disgust for the creature evident in her voice.

Its black eyes flashed a blinding purpled as blood dripped down Derek's shoulder slowly, each droplet following a trail made by the last. It was small, would fit into the palm of my hand. Literally. It wasn't that big at all, but its teeth were sharp and yellow. It was a horrible looking thing, I could relate to Lydia's disgust. But I had to admit, from the group's researcher point of view, it was quite fascinating. God, I sounded like I wanted to take it back to my lab and perform experiments on it, then dissect it when it died.

"I don't know what it is; just get it before I squash it." Derek growled through his teeth. " _Now!_ "

Allison went to move forward, but Scott pulled her back gently, not wanting her to get bitten too, in case the bite was lethal to humans. Allison, seeming to pick up on this, didn't resist. Isaac stayed close to Danny, practically plastered to his. Both watched nervously trying to figure out a way to contain it – the same as me. Lydia clung to Jackson's hand, watching the flashing black and purple eyes, and oozy sliming grey fur turn a dark rusty red-brown. It seemed to grow slightly, just the tiniest bit possible, but it grew.

"Do none of you understand the word _NOW_!" Derek growled, eyes flashing red and claws appearing for a second before disappearing again.

He let out another small howl of pain, one that made all the Betas wince. I looked to the five other wolves, wanting one of them to move as Derek sat there on his knees in pain. It was then Jackson swiped at the creature, growling, knocking it off of the Alpha's shoulder. It flew into a tree. I thought it may have hit the tree so hard it was, you know, dead. Of course, we wouldn't be so lucky. It sprang back up into its four legs, leaping forward with a purpose.

It bit Jackson. It didn't stay attached to the guy for long, before jumping to Isaac, then Boyd, next to Erica and then lastly to Scott before bounding away, deeper still into the everlasting forest. The six werewolves and Allison made to move after it, until all six werewolves pretty much collapsed to the ground. Allison, Danny, Lydia and I all looked to each other before nodding. Allison grabbed Scott and Erica, Danny grabbed Isaac and Boyd, Lydia grabbed Jackson while I was left with Derek. The four of us supported the weight of our six wolves, shuffling back towards Derek's house.

* * *

The walk back was highly difficult. Derek was in the worst state, the Betas able to carry the majority of their own weight. Derek, having been bitten for the longest, was the weakest at the moment, meaning I had carried – pretty much _dragged_ – his whole weight through the forest and back to his house.

Allison, Danny, Lydia and I had deposited the six werewolves into the living room – Derek in his armchair, Boyd and Erica on the couch they usually dibsed, while Jackson and Scott sat opposite ends of one of the other couches, Isaac stretched out on the other. We didn't even have to think about where to put them all.

Once all six of them were finally sitting – or, in Isaac's case, lying – down, the rest of us stood in front of the TV, waiting for them to heal. We waited for then minutes. Nothing happened.

We waited for another ten minutes. Nothing happened.

We waited for twenty minutes on top of that. Still nothing happened.

It was only an _hour and fifteen minutes_ after we had first put them all down that something happened. But it wasn't healing. Well, in a way it was, but it came with an added surprise. A very _un_ welcome surprise!

"Fuck!" Allison, Danny, Lydia and I breathed.

The Betas had now turned into seven year old versions of themselves, while Derek now looked to be only seventeen – like the rest of us, excluding Allison.

"Why is it always us?!" I moaned.


	2. Plan?

"Fantastic!" I growled, pacing. "Fan- _fucking_ -tasitc! As if we need anything else to worry about!"

"Stiles, calm down." Allison tried.

"CALM DOWN?! CALM DOWN?! Look at what's happened to them! Derek is _seventeen_ and the rest of them are _seven_! How can I calm down?!"

As I paced and grumbled to myself – yelling at times – everyone watched me. It was unnerving having the werewolves stare at me, I mean...you would feel unnerved too if your friends had been bitten by this _thing_ that made them younger! I ran my fingers through my hair – I had grown my buzz-cut out –, gripping the side of my head violently, squeezing my eyes shut and letting out a shaky, angry breath. We didn't need this. We _really_ didn't need this! It was bad enough that this thing got away; we didn't need five seven year olds or a seventeen year old to look after...or keep hidden from everyone in town. Thank God it was summer vacation!

I sagged against the nearest wall, letting my back drag down it, until I was seated on the hardwood floor. I kept my face hidden in my hands, trying desperately to come up with an idea of how to handle this. I mean, obviously we needed to find the creature. The problem was, how could we catch it and how would we without much help from werewolves? Groaning, I lifted my head up, scrubbing my face harshly with my hands twice before rubbing at my temples with my index and middle fingers.

" _Everyone_ is gunna have to stay here." I sighed. "Until we catch that little fucker and get them back to normal."

"What? Why?" seven year old Jackson asked. "I wanna go home."

I winced, slightly. I forgot how much of a handful he was at this age. Not as bad as he when he was seventeen, but still annoying and frustrating.

"Well, we can't let people see _any_ of you like this." I gritted out through clenched teeth. "Otherwise, they could wind up figuring out your little furry secret."

Jackson said nothing, just crossed his arms in a huff, pouting. I couldn't suppress the roll of my eyes.

"How are we going to do that?" Danny asked. "I mean, yeah, Jackson and I can stay no problem...but what about the girls, you and Scott?"

"I'll think of something." I sighed, covering my face once again. "Just... Give me a minute to think."

* * *

I ended up grabbing a notepad from somewhere in Derek's house, pulling a pen out of my backpack as well. I had written down three names and one pronoun – Allison, Lydia, Scott and me – jotting down ideas on what to tell parents. It was pretty messy, considering all my little doodles, and only I could read my writing because it was so rushed and scribbled...but I was getting there.

I was stressed, I really was. I wanted to scream and yell and punch something. This made it harder to think of anything. I kept my back to the wall while Allison, Danny and Lydia were keeping Scott, Isaac, Jackson, Boyd and Erica busy...which seemed to be working. Derek, on the other hand, just sat there in his arm chair, looking confused and agitated, watching me the whole time. I just ignored the look, trying to focus on coming up with some ideas. _Any_ ideas! It had been sitting there for...I don't even know how long, when I felt a small hand tapping my shoulder. Looking up and to the left, I saw a seven year old Scott standing there, confusion etched into the expression on his young face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned, his voice high and innocent.

"Don't worry about it, man." I replied, smiling a little. "Just trying to figure out what to tell our parents, as well as Allison's."

"Can't we just tell my mom and your dad the truth? They know about werewolves and all this stuff anyway."

He wasn't wrong there. During winter break, Melissa and my dad had found the whole pack facing off with the current 'big bad' at the time, and had caught the Alpha and seven Betas wolfing out. We had _a lot_ of explaining to do that night.

"There still getting used to it, dude." I said. "This would just freak them out."

Scott nodded, shifting his weight from foot to foot for a moment, puling at the way-too-long sleeves. That was when I finally realised that the clothes the Betas were wearing were now too big for them. Nothing of theirs would fit anymore. Shit. _One problem at a time, Stiles, one problem at a time!_ The seven year old in front of me took a step forward, giving me a small hug.

"You'll get there in the end, man." he told me before walking back to Allison.

I grinned a little, turning back to the notepad. It was then a couple of ideas struck.

_**Allison:** _ _Holiday **\- NO**_

_Staying with Erica **\- NO**_

_Tell the truth **\- NO**_

_Staying with Lydia **\- YES**_

_**Lydia:** _ _Nothing **\- NO** _

_Wait until parents leave for their trip, call Allison 'asking if she wants to stay for the summer, end up coming here **\- YES**_

_**Scott:** _ _Tell the truth **\- NO**_

_Say nothing, hope Melissa doesn't notice **\- NO**_

_Pack stuff_ **_– NO_ **

_Say Isaac wants company, Derek refuses to let Isaac leave house, stay at Derek's place **\- YES**_

_**Me:** _ _Same as Scott_ _**– simples! ** _

I read over the un-scribbled ideas a few times, my grin growing.

"I'VE GOT IT!" I yelled, excitedly, jumping up.

My sudden outburst caused everyone to jump, making the werewolves wince a little. Allison, Danny and Lydia looked to me expectantly.

"Ok. Well, Danny, you and Jackson are fine since your parents are on vacation, so we're fine there." I started. "Lydia, you said your parents are leaving on Thursday, right? Well, if you and Allison go home until Thursday, only coming round in the day, what you can do after your parents have left is call Allison 'asking' if she wants to 'stay at yours' for the summer, which, Allison, is what you'll tell your mom and dad. But the pair of you will come here instead, obviously."

I paused for a second, breathing, letting that information sink in first, waiting for the three other humans to nod.

"For Scott and me, this is easy." I continued. "Melissa and my dad have dinner every now and then, talking about what we all do. Tonight is one of those days. I'll just tell them that Isaac asked us to stay for the summer, since Derek won't let him out the house considering the full moon, so we're staying here. They can't say no. If Isaac's involved, they can't say no."

"It's a curse, really." Isaac sighed, dramatically, lifting the mood a little.

"Anyway! Allison, Lydia. You two will go home tonight, and come over _only_ during the day, until Thursday. Danny, when the girls leave, you can go home and grab your things, then come back here. Then when your back, I'll head home to talk to Melissa and my dad and grab a few things myself. Oh, also, we need to get those five some clothes."

We four humans looked to where our friends – all but Derek – were drowned in their clothes. Sure, Derek's were too big for him, but at least it didn't look like his clothes were trying to _eat_ him!

"I'll grab a few things my cousins left at me place last time they visited." Danny said.

"I'll bring some of my old clothes." Lydia agreed.

"I'm sure I can find a few things somewhere." Allison told me.

"Good." I breathed as sigh in relief. "Sourwolf, do you need anything?"

Derek had been strangely quiet this whole time. Sure, we were used to the Alpha being all broody and stuff, but he hadn't even argued when we said about staying here until we sorted everything out and everyone was back to normal. Derek just shook his head. I nodded.

"So, what are we going to do until we leave?" Lydia asked.


	3. Putting A Plan Into Action

For a couple of hours, we tried to keep the seven year old Betas entertained. It was harder than I thought it would be, considering – at times – they were acting like they did when they _used to be_ seven. It was worrying. Derek, on the other hand, continued to just sit there, brooding. All of us knew better than to go annoy him, so left him too it. I didn't mind that the broody Alpha wasn't speaking it just reassured me really, proving that the wolves still had their memories from what had happened over the past decade – or past five years, in Derek's case

We soon figured out that cartoons were the best way to keep the Betas happy, and, luckily, we found a channel that played them all day, every day. Allison, Danny, Lydia and I all heaved a sigh of relief. TV was our last hope after going through: running around outside, reading – we knew it was a long shot –, building forts...things like that. Thank God for TV!

At five in the evening, Allison and Lydia were ready to make their ways back home. Danny was going with them so he could grab his things. As soon as Scott, Jackson and Isaac heard that the three were leaving, they immediately attached themselves to their other halves. I would never admit it out loud, but it looked cute when Isaac got like this, you couldn't deny it. Especially when he was a seven year old.

"Do you have to go?" the blonde asked, trying to get his hands out of the forest of fabric – caused by his, now, enlarged shirt – to get a better grip on Danny.

Isaac's voice was high than Scott's was earlier, the childish curiosity making it even higher. Everyone knew why Isaac was asking though, it was no secret. Isaac was always afraid when something went wrong and never liked being away from two people – me and Danny. If something had gone wrong during one of many encounters with the current 'big bad', Danny would always find himself with Isaac in his room – not that he minded. Before they got together, I had found Isaac in my room a couple of times, asking if it was alright he could stay for the night. You just shouldn't say no to him. And after what he had been through, you couldn't blame him for not liking being alone in these kind of situations. Danny looked down at him. It hadn't been a surprise when they had told us all that they were together. I mean, they were kind of obvious and neither of them would shut up about the other. They had only been together for, about, five months, but – for the rest of us – it seemed so much longer.

"I'll be back in a little while." Danny smiled, fondly. "Only need to grab a few things from home, then I'll come straight back."

"Promise?" Isaac asked, quietly.

"Promise, I'll be back soon. Ok?"

Isaac nodded, hugging Danny tightly, before stepping back a little. Allison and Lydia were not having much luck with Scott and Jackson, though. The boys refused to let the girls go, refusing to let them leave. Allison and Lydia were trying their best to get their boyfriends off of them. They tried verbal as well as physical force, but nothing seemed to be working. The pair looked to me with pleading looks.

"Please try something." Allison begged.

I sighed, standing up straighter.

"Scott, Jackson." I said, voice low and authoritative. "Let the girls go."

"No!" both yelled, defiantly.

"Let them go now, or you'll both be in a time out."

Scott and Jackson turned their heads slightly to look at me, noses wrinkled in confusion and slight disgust with my small threat. Little did any of them know that I was genuinely serious. The two seven year olds just watched me, shaking their heads slightly.

"Say goodbye to the girls and that you'll see them Thursday, then go play." I told them, the same tone in my voice. "Or I will force you off of them and lock the pair of you in your rooms for the rest of the day, taking out anything you could use as entertainment."

When they went to reply, I raised my eyebrow slightly, my expression making the question whether they really wanted to say anything. While Scott conceded, letting Allison walk towards the door, Jackson just clung to Lydia, still.

"You can't put us in a 'time out'! No one does that anyone." Jackson told me, stubbornly.

"Right, first of all, are you back chatting me?" I demanded. "Second of all, I do it, so obviously people _do_ still use it. Know you have five seconds to say goodbye and let Lydia go."

With a small huff, Jackson actually did as he was told. I was really surprised. Lydia shot me a thankful look, before she strutted out the door after Allison and Danny. Great, now I was alone in this.

' _Danny better hurry up!'_ I thought.

* * *

At some point Boyd, Erica, Jackson and Scott went outside, after promising to stay where they could be seen from the house, at all times. The last thing we needed was for one or more of them to be taken. Derek had gone to sit on the front porch, opting to watch them, just in case they decided to just run off, or whatever. Isaac, on the other hand, stayed inside, curled up in a ball while sitting on the couch. I approached him carefully, sitting down on his left hand side slowly. Isaac glanced up at me, briefly, before placing his chin back onto his knees. I gently placed a hand on his shoulder, but it still made him flinch a little before he relaxed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, quietly.

Isaac sighed, wide blue-grey eyes turning towards me, looking up, instead of down a little. He looked so helpless. Was it weird that I just wanted to hug him? Probably was since he was actually just over a month older than me.

"I don't like this, Stiles." Isaac admitted in a whisper. "I'm scared. I don't wanna stay like this."

"You won't." I told him. "We'll find a way to get you guys back to normal."

"Really?"

"Have I ever lied to you before?"

"I don't think so..."

"The correct answer was 'no', Isaac. But I promise, you won't stay like this forever."

"Ok."

Isaac managed a weak smile. He manoeuvred himself onto his knees and leant forward to wrap his arms around my neck. It was strange, quite strange. I wasn't really used to the affection shown by the wolves, since it was only ever Scott that showed it. But Scott didn't rub his head into my neck like Isaac was now. I patted him back awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. What could I do? It would be weird! When Isaac pulled back and sat on his heels, he looked a little sheepish.

"Sorry. Instinct." was all he muttered, blushing slightly.

"Don't worry 'bout it." I ended up reply, ruffling his hair a little. "Why don't you go outside with the others? Time will pass quicker then, so Danny will be here quicker."

Isaac's face lit up at the mention of Danny, practically leaping off the couch and running towards the front door. Danny better be back soon.

* * *

 _An hour and fifteen minutes_ after he had left, Danny was back. Isaac was the first over to him, jumping into his arms as soon as Danny placed his bags by the stairs. He walked into the living room, carrying Isaac like you would any child, while Isaac did the face-neck-rubbing thing.

"Dude, you live, like, ten minutes away!" I hissed. "What the hell took so long?!"

Danny didn't know how to respond. It was obvious in the way that he was looking around the room.

"Forget it. Do you have the things your cousins left at your place, 'cause they need things that fit them?" I asked.

"Yeah, they're in my bag." Danny replied, relived for the change in topic.

"Good. Sort that out; I'll be back in an hour, tops."

"You're just leaving me here?!"

"Yes. Just like you did with me. I'll be back as quick as I can."

I walked out of the living room in a huff, closing the front door with a little _too_ much force. I near enough ran to my jeep, driving away from the house quickly.

* * *

The drive home only took five minutes, though I was speeding a little. Dad wasn't in when I got home, but he would be there any minute...same as Melissa. So, as I waited, I gathered everything I would need. I filled up one bag with practically _all_ of my clothing, another bag with comics and books, and I place my laptop in my laptop case along with my laptop and cell phone charger. Gathering everything I needed and placing all bags in my jeep took ten minutes. I had just finished placing my last bag in my jeep when dad and Melissa showed up.

"Going somewhere, Stiles?" dad asked, as he and Melissa walked over.

"Yeah. Isaac asked Scott and me if we'd stay over the summer, since he's never had a chance to have friends stay when he was younger." I lied. "Derek agreed...eventually. But one condition was Scott and me had to stay at his, considering the full moons and stuff. I was going to leave a note before I left, explaining everything."

The last part wasn't a lie. I was _really_ going to leave a note. As soon as they heard Isaac's name, dad and Melissa seemed to be won over.

"Well, that's sweet." Melissa smiled. "Isaac's such a sweet boy."

"Yeah, he's awesome." I nodded. So... It's alright, right?"

"Fine." dad said, reluctantly. "Just be careful."

"Will do. And, yes, I remembered to grab my Adderall!"

I saluted awkwardly as I hopped into my jeep. Dad was still apprehensive since learning about the whole werewolf thing, and still didn't fully trust Derek. He was getting better though. He didn't have his gun out anymore whenever Derek was around. Which was a relief, I mean I'd rather not have a dead Alpha... That would just be awkward and sad. _Really_ sad...and not just because I had a thing for the Sourwolf.

* * *

I had spent twenty-five minutes away from Derek's house. _TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES!_ Danny lives closer that I do and I was still quicker than he was. Jesus Christ. Sighing, I grabbed my bags, shuffling up to the front door with them. Luckily the door opened before I got to it, meaning I could dump my bags by the stairs easily – apart from my laptop case, which I placed gently on the table by the stairs. Derek had been the one to open the door, since he was closing it as I turned around.

"Cheers, Sourwolf." I grinned.

Derek glared at me, but as a seventeen year old it didn't have the same affect. I just grinned at him, walking past, back into the living room.

"That was quick." Danny commented from the floor, with Isaac sitting on his lap, happily.

"Unlike _someone_." I muttered.

Looking around at the Betas, it seemed like the clothes Danny's cousins had left were just the right sizes, thank God! Looked like they had shoes too! Well, at least that would make things a bit easier.


	4. Handling Seven Year Olds

Now that both Danny and I were there looking after the five seven year old Betas and a seventeen year old Derek, things seemed to go _so_ much easier. Derek stayed to himself during this whole thing, staying in his chair, reading, unless he had to move. The Betas were behaving – since Boyd and Erica had each other and Isaac had Danny, they were fine. Scott and Jackson seemed to be our only problems. The pair of them seemed to be in a fight with each other at every possible chance they got. And it was always when I wasn't in the room. Well, that's what they thought until the fourth time they launched for each other. I sighed, walking over cautiously. As I got closer, I grabbed the pair of them – carefully – by the arms, hauling them upright. They protested as I started to walk upstairs, still dragging them behind me. Of course, they tried to get away, but one look stopped that straight away.

Once upstairs, I locked the pair of them in their respective rooms – Derek made sure that each werewolf had their own room in the house, except Boyd and Erica, they shared one – making sure that anything that could be seen as fun entertainment was taken out of the rooms. I told them they were staying there until they calmed down enough to be trusted to be let out. I heard the growl from Jackson's room, but I ignored it, not taking that bait. Instead I walked back downstairs, into the living room where Danny, Isaac, Derek, Erica and Boyd were still seated. Danny looked at me curiously, from where he sat on one sofa, as I took my seat on the floor again.

"I never bluff when it comes to time outs." I shrugged.

Danny seemed amused by this, but didn't voice any thought, instead opting to turn his attention back to Isaac, who was still sitting quite happily in his lap. Boyd and Erica – sat on the other sofa – were quite intrigued with the cartoons playing across the TV screen, something I would be using against them in the future. Derek, on the other hand, looked...blank. He was still reading his book, but had even less of an expression on his face than he normally did. It was rather unsettling, and made his younger self look so much older. If I was staring at him, it was so not my fault.

* * *

I let Jackson and Scott out of their rooms only when it came to starting dinner. Since Derek had become Isaac, Erica and Boyd's guardian, this meant that, luckily, he had food in the house. Derek had tried to start cooking dinner himself. Until I shoved him out of the kitchen. Honestly, people should know to leave me to these kinds of things. I mean, I cook for me and my dad; it was habit to prepare meals. No one should get in the way of my habits. Of course, this didn't stop people from walking in or poking their heads round the door as I worked. I left them alone if they left the food alone, something that Scott knew well.

"Told you that you'd get hit with the wooden spoon." Scott muttered.

"Shut up, McCall." Jackson grumbled.

"Make me, you slimy lizard."

"I am _not_ a lizard!"

"Yes you are!"

"Not!"

"Lizard!"

This was so frustrating it was unbelievable.

"Stop it!" I yelled. "Scott, Jackson, stop arguing. Scott, apologise to Jackson and stop being mean!"

"But..." Scott started.

"No buts!"

In between soft muttering, I heard the apology. It was followed by a soft yelp and a hushed voice that I knew belonged to Derek. God knows what he was saying though. It didn't take long for Danny to walk in though, smirking. I had a feeling that Danny knew how I felt about Derek... I mean, Danny would know. It annoyed me a little. Especially when he tried to convince me that it wasn't one-sided.

"I'm telling you, it's true." Danny chuckled – referring to the not-one-sided thing.

"Will you ever stop going on about this?" I sighed, placing the wooden spoon on the bench.

"Not until you admit it and something happens."

"You suck, man."

"Well..."

I immediately covered my ears, hearing the slight evil undertone in Danny's voice. I turned, glaring at him, which caused the guy to laugh.

"You're mean." I muttered.

"I try." Danny shrugged.

* * *

Words could not describe how grateful I was for bed time! Scott, Jackson, Isaac, Boyd and Erica fell asleep quickly, but had ended with Danny, Derek and I having to carry them to their rooms – Danny taking Isaac, Derek taking Boyd and Jackson, with me taking Erica and Scott. It was easy enough, placing the five seven year olds in their respective rooms.

Danny, not wanting to leave Isaac, had decided it was time he went to bed too. We had already worked out who would sleep where and the pair of us had moved out bags to the correct room. It was obvious that Danny was bunking with Isaac. Boyd and Erica already shared a room, so those two were sorted. When the girls came back on Thursday, Allison would be rooming with Scott, Lydia with Jackson. Derek had his room. While I took one of the spare rooms. The room I had seemed to be in the middle of all the other rooms and was the smallest, which I was fine with. I don't know what I would do with myself if I had picked one of the larger rooms, and I don't think bunking with Derek was a choice.

Derek and I left Danny upstairs after the Betas had been placed in their rooms, the Alpha and I making our ways back downstairs. It was so peaceful, so nice. It was so strange how, right now, I didn't mind the silence. Derek and I sat in the living room – Sourwolf in his arm chair, and myself on one of the couches. I leaned back into the squishy material of the couch, sighing softly. I could feel Derek watching, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

"What's up, Sourwolf?" I asked, eventually. "Usually, you only stare at me when I've annoyed you."

I glanced at him then, noticing the slight pink flush that had spread over his cheeks. It was so strange seeing this on Derek, even if it was a younger version of him – which in itself was weird. I couldn't help but smile slightly. The blush made him look even younger... I liked it. I could feel my own face heating up at the admission, even if it was inside my head.

"H-How did you know how to handle them?" seventeen year old Derek asked, voice gentler and softer than the one I had gotten used to.

It threw me for a moment, hearing the difference in the tone, but I soon gathered my thoughts.

"When I was six, my mum, dad and I babysat two of my cousins." I shrugged. "We stopped once mum had gotten ill. But two years after she did, when I was twelve, we started looking after them again. I learnt how to take care of kids, and since they're related to me, it was no picnic. Never looked after a kid with ADHD though... Just be glad I wasn't bitten by that thing, I remember what I was like at seven. It was not good..."

I trailed off with a shudder. Seven was not a good age for me. My ADHD was almost uncontrollable then, until they gave me a stronger dosage of Adderall. Thank God they did! Derek smiled, laughing quietly. My eyes widened when I heard the soft noise and saw the slight upwards turn of his mouth. He needed to laugh and smile more.

"You can't have been that bad." Derek said. "They say you only get worse with age."

"No, trust me. Seven years old was the worst age for me." I insisted. "My dad still loves to embarrass me with it."

* * *

Derek and I talked for a while like that. It was strange talking to the seventeen year old version of him. He didn't act like the normal Derek, the twenty-two year old Alpha I knew. He acted more like his seventeen year old self; just like that Betas were with their seven year old selves. It was unnerving, yet exciting. We knew barely anything about Derek. Maybe we'd finally get a chance to find out.

Sourwolf and I had dragged ourselves upstairs at around half eleven, slipping into our separate rooms, which just so happened to be next to each other. Instead of going to sleep like Derek probably thought, I pulled out my laptop and numerous research books. I needed to find out what this thing was and fast, and there was no way I was going to be getting any help this time.

I dragged book after book into my lap, flipping through the contents, reading the passages quickly. Nothing related to our situation, nothing could help! The hours went by, and soon it was five forty-five in the morning.

It was going to be fun operating on no sleep.


	5. Sleep Deprived

The girls were round every morning from seven, up until five in half nine in the evening. Needless to say that I was exhausted from getting no sleep at all the night before, or even early that morning. It went on like this for days. At night I would stay up in the room I had inhabited, researching, not realising that it was then morning when I finally gave up. I was so tired, but I refused to let myself sleep until I found something that could be of use to all of us. I had check so many of the books I had and websites that usually helped...but so far I had found nothing.

"Still have three more books to go." I mumbled to myself, yawning and scrubbing at my eyes. "Three more. Maybe there's something in them."

I don't know how much I believe that thought, but I couldn't give up know! I had to check them! And not only because I made a promise to Isaac. So that's why tonight – Wednesday night – I was still up, forcing myself to stay awake. I was so close to getting onto the third to last book; I had to get onto it. I needed to know if those last three books had anything in them.

It was frustrating to say the least, but someone had to do it. Who else would willingly do research, as well as look after five seven year olds? No one. Well, no one apart from me. Well I didn't think anyone else would. Pretty sure. Possibly. Out of our pack? Definitely only me. _God,_ I _hate_ being sleep deprived. When this was all over, I was going to sleep for hours. Or until the next big bad showed up, which hopefully wouldn't be for a while.

"Why can't I find anything?!" I growled, quietly.

Words couldn't describe how close I was to throwing the book across the room.

* * *

It was around three on Thursday morning when there was a soft knock at my door. I gave a soft grunt, knowing they'd be able to hear me if it was one of the wolves. And I was right. I had expected it to be Scott, but glancing up I saw just how wrong I was. Standing by the now-closed-again door, was Derek. I bookmarked the page of the book I was on, placing it to the side, turning to face him properly. My neck ached from being in a bent position for so long, so I rubbed at the back of it with my right hand.

"Hey Sourwolf, what has you up so early?" I greeted, tiredly.

"Why haven't you been to sleep?" Derek asked.

"What?"

"Ever since our first run in with that thing, you haven't been to sleep. At all. I want to know why."

I watched him, slightly shocked. Had Derek been listening to me this whole time? That was kind of creepy. Did he do that when I was at home? Now that was very creepy. But why would he do that? Why listen to me? As if reading my thoughts, Derek rolled his eyes.

"Your pack, Stiles." Derek told me, exasperatedly. "Since I'm a werewolf, and an Alpha at that, I can tell when something's not right with my pack."

I sighed slightly.

"Just doing research, Sourwolf. Just can't seem to find anything useful." I explained.

"I have books that could help." Derek replied, instantly. "You can look at them tomorrow, if you want."

"You couldn't have said something sooner!"

"Didn't know you were looking into it."

"Well, who else would?!"

Derek stayed silent for a moment, watching me with a strange look in his eyes. It was made stranger by the youth of his seventeen year old self; an appearance that had not been aged by grief, pain or anger.

"Just get some sleep, Stiles." Derek said, flatly. "You can have to books tomorrow."

And with that, he left. What the hell had just happened? What was that look? Why had he been listening to me? Why was he so worried? I just shrugged and returned to the book.

* * *

At seven on Thursday morning, the girls weren't over at Derek's yet. To make it all the more believable to Allison's parents, the girls were waiting until, about, ten o'clock, which was a two hours after Lydia's parents would have left the house. Danny was going to go pick them up, since they had so much stuff between the pair of them and Danny's car was bigger that Lydia's. So, until then, the only thing left to do was look after the Betas and try to get some ore research done. I had moved on to the last book and was half way through it. Still nothing useful had presented itself and I was getting more and more agitated. It had only been _four days_ since the attack on the werewolves!

"Here." a voice said, books suddenly being placed onto the coffee table in the living room – where I was sitting.

I looked up from my spot on the floor, my tired eyes taking a moment to adjust to the movement. Derek was standing there, shuffling slightly awkwardly.

"I said you could look through them." Derek added before turning to sit in his chair.

"Thanks, Sourwolf." I mumbled, turning back to the book I was currently on. "I look in a bit."

Derek grunted. Something's never changed. I turned the page, the words and pictures blurring like mad. I blinked rapidly and rubbed at my eyes with the heels of my hands to get them to focus again.

"Did you get _any_ sleep?" Derek suddenly asked.

I shook my head, yawning, returning to the book. I heard a soft sigh and – what sounded like – a low, quiet whine, similar to one a dog would make when it had been left alone. For a moment I thought it had been Derek. But that was a stupid thought. Why would Derek do that? I put that strange thought down to lack of sleep.

* * *

I only realised I had fallen asleep when I opened my eyes. My head was resting on a book – the last one of mine that I had almost finished checking. At some point, I had slumped down onto the floor, using the open book as a pillow. Someone had placed a blanket over me. I had no idea how long I had been out for, but man did I feel better for it! Until I heard the sound of voices yelling at each other. I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes, wincing slightly at my aching muscles. Standing up, I looked around the living room, of which was empty if I wasn't included. Odd. The Betas weren't outside either, since I couldn't see them through the window.

" _Probably upstairs."_ I thought.

Dragging my feet, I made my way towards the voices – the kitchen. I stood in the doorway, finding Danny and Derek facing Allison and Lydia.

"He looks like hell! What have you been doing to him?!" Lydia yelled.

"Has he even slept?!" Allison screamed.

"Have either of you even helped him?!"

"Has he been through all those books alone?!"

"What is wrong with you two?!"

My gaze flickered between the two groups, frowning slightly.

"Can you please stop yelling?" I whimpered, voice hoarse, head aching. "I'm pretty sure the Betas can hear you and my head is throbbing."

The four of them snapped round to look at me. Allison and Lydia walked over, both of them hugging me and asking if I was alright. I assured them I was, just tired, to which they sent a glare over to Derek and Danny. I sighed, explaining why. They still blamed Derek and Danny.

"Well, today you're having a break. No research until tomorrow afternoon." Lydia told me, leaving no room for argument. "We'll help you."

I had no choice but to agree with her.


	6. Found Something

Through the whole of Thursday afternoon, I tried desperately to keep away from finishing the last book, before moving onto the one's Derek had let me borrow for research. It was difficult. My ADHD made it worse for me to stay away; anything I did, I would get distracted by the thought of the books. It was maddening! Not to mention that on more than one occasion, I swear I heard the dog-like whine I heard earlier on before I fell asleep, and only ever when I was in the same room as Derek. I thought I was the only one hearing it, until the Betas and other humans were looking confused. I, on the other hand, just brushed it off. I mean, I could have been imagining their reactions to the sound too.

At four in the afternoon, when the Betas were outside with Allison, Lydia, Danny and Derek, I practically dived towards the pile off books left on the coffee table. I snatched up the last of my books, taking a mere five minutes to finish it – obviously it had nothing, useless pile of crap! Sighing, I picked up the smallest book Derek had allowed me to look through. Luckily, I didn't have to read through every passage I came to, since for each new creature it talked about there was a picture. I flipped through pages and pages, finding... _nothing_! I groaned quietly, running my left hand over my face.

I carried on like that for the next three books – all the same size as the first. Again, nothing that could help was in any of them.

"Maybe I should just give up." I muttered to myself.

Even before I said those words I knew I was kidding myself. Why the hell would I give up? I promised Isaac, damn it! And Stiles Stilinski never broke a promise! So, taking a deep breath, I dove right back into the books, looking for the picture of the creature we had encountered just four days ago. I was surprised that no one had come inside the house yet, then again Allison and Lydia probably though the longer they kept everyone out the house, the more chance there was of me getting at least few more hours sleep. Honestly, they were supposed to be smart.

* * *

I had gone through five of the books Derek had let me borrow, none of them having an image that was even _close_ to the creature we were looking for. I was getting even more frustrated and scared. I mean, what if we could never turn them back to normal? What if the Betas remained at the age of seven and Derek at the age of seventeen, forced to live through those years again, while the rest of us aged how we should? What would their families say? What would everyone else in town say? Would they have to move so no one figure it out? I didn't want that to happen! No, I would find something! I would...

I moved onto the sixth page, opening the book. I didn't know think I was going to find remotely helpful, so I leant back against the couch and flipped past the pages. Then I saw it. Black eyes; sharp yellow teeth; oozy, sliming grey fur; four legs; large ears, pointed like a rats; dark, slimy, green blob of a tail. Eyes widened. That was exactly what we had found. Immediately, I placed a book mark between the two pages – just in case. And a good thing I did, because right then Jackson came zooming in. I didn't have to be a werewolf to know he was upset about something, it was obvious enough by the way he held himself and flung himself face first onto the sofa, shaking slightly. I closed the book, turning fully towards the boy, getting onto my knees and kneeling up. I could hear the small noises coming from him, and I froze. Jackson was crying. Never had I thought I would hear Jackson cry. Sure, he was seven now not seventeen, but even when we were seven had never heard or seen him cry. This was... _new_.

"Jackson?" I asked, softly. "What's up, man?"

"Go away!" came the chocked and muffled yell, followed by a sob.

"No. No, I'm not leaving, dude. Come on; tell me what's gotten you like this."

Jackson lifted his head out of the pillows and sat up, glaring at me. His eyes turned blue and were wet, red and puffy filled with anger, pain and sadness.

"Why?!" he screamed. "Why do _you_ care?!"

I couldn't help what I did next. He just looked so small, so vulnerable. I knew what that felt like. I also knew the best way to deal with it when it came to someone else. Like the time out thing, I had a lot of practice with it with my cousins. That was why I reached out and dragged him towards me, hugging him. I couldn't help it; it was the same with Isaac as well. Jackson froze, but didn't try to get away. It only took a few seconds before he relaxed, shifted and wrapped his arms around my neck. He cried into my shoulder. All I did was hug him and rub a hand up and down his back. I found it the easiest way to sooth someone without actually saying anything. It worked in the end, since after a short while, Jackson had stopped crying, just sniffling every now and then. I decided I would give a few moments to calm down properly before asking him what was wrong, and during those few minutes, he did exactly what Isaac did the other day when I was hugging him. Jackson started rubbing his face into my neck, and again I had no idea what the fuck I should do. So I did nothing.

* * *

After a minute Jackson pulled away, calmer now and looking a little sheepish. I just smiled and ruffled his hair, earning a small boyish giggle in response.

"So... Ready to tell me what got you so upset?" I asked, calmly.

Jackson bit his lip and nodded a little, looking down at his hands that were now folded in his lap. I sat there patiently, waiting for him to talk. Which was hard to do, I started to get all itchy again when it was silent, but I stuck it out.

"The other Betas are mean." Jackson whispered, frowning. "Well... Apart from Isaac."

"What did they do?" I wondered.

"They... They said I was a slimy lizard and that I didn't belong here or anywhere. Said I should just leave already. I got mad. But Lydia, Allison and Danny didn't believe me, so I got in trouble."

I frowned. Well this wasn't good. The Betas never acted like this at seventeen, they all got along. And Jackson would be able to tell if they weren't overly fond of him. Unless it was something with them being seven years old again? Hmmm...

"Hey, I believe you, ok?" I told him. "I can always tell when you're lying. But can you tell me something?" I asked.

Jackson nodded, looking up a little.

"Did you hear anything strange when they said that? Did their heart beats skip?" I went on.

"Yeah..." Jackson replied.

"Thought so. They lied, Jackson, they don't think that. They're acting how they did when you guys were _really_ seven, but because you're all werewolves, it's...worse. Ok? So what they said to you, they don't mean."

"But..."

"No buts. I have never lied to you before, and I'm not starting now. Trust me when I say they don't think that, and no one else thinks that. You are _pack_ , that means you _are family_ , that means you _belong_ , that means you should _stay here_ , and it means that you are most definitely _NOT_ a 'slimy lizard'. You hear me?"

Jackson smiled slightly, brightening up a little bit. This time, it was _him_ that hugged _me_. God, this would be weird if Jackson did this once we got them all back to normal. Hell! Everything will be weird...especially since I gave Jackson and Scott a time out when they're both months older than me. They were _so_ going to get me back for that.

"Want some hot chocolate?" I asked.

Jackson pulled back a bit, looking hopeful. I grinned, getting him off of the couch and leaning him towards the kitchen. After helping him sit on the counter, I went about making the delicious chocolaty goodness.

* * *

A little while later, Jackson and I were sitting in the living room, both with cups of hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream and chocolate. The seven year old seemed happier now, thank God! He was sitting there, chatting happily, and I just sat back and listened. Jackson was actually alright, but I didn't know if it was his seven year old self I meant or the seventeen year old. I mean, sure, they were the same person and everything, but the seven year old seemed nicer.

"Stiles?" Jackson asked after a bit, his voice higher than Scott's but lower than Isaac's.

"Yeah, Jax?" I replied, not thinking about the name.

He grinned over the rim of his cup, but faltered slightly when he went back to asking me whatever it was he wanted to know.

"Stiles...will we ever turn back to normal?" Jackson asked, quietly.

"Course you will." I told him, ruffling his hair. "We did it once, we'll do it again."

"Thanks, Stiles. For everything."

"No problem, dude."

Jackson looked towards the doorway then. Looking up, I found Lydia standing there.

"Listen before you yell." was all I told her.

Without another word, Jackson slid off of the couch, placing his empty cup on the coffee table. He hugged me again before walking over to Lydia and disappeared. Now I was alone again, I picked up the book resting on the coffee table. Oh right, yeah!

"Hey, guys!" I yelled, happily. "I found something!"


	7. What The Hell?

"I thought I told you _no_ research until tomorrow." Lydia scolded, as everyone gathered in the living room.

"Sue me." I shrugged, reading over the small extract in the book before I told them about it. "Besides I found a little something, so I think I should be let off the hook."

"Stiles..."

"He's right." Derek said, sitting in his chair.

Everyone stopped. Derek thought...I was _right_? That's never happened before! I stared at Sourwolf in disbelief; I mean, he's never agreed with me before. So why start now? God, this was doing nothing to stop my stupid little awkward crush. Then again, I was surprised how no one actually knew about that yet. I mean, come on, I was shit at hiding things from my friends, and considering _more than half_ of them were _werewolves_ , I was surprised they hadn't realised that I was lusting after the Alpha. Oh God, I really couldn't think these kind f things when around these guys!

"Er... Thanks, Sourwolf." I grinned. "Anyway, I have a name for this thing."

"Well, what is it?" Danny asked, keeping hold of a bouncing Isaac.

I shook my head slightly, rolling my eyes. At least Isaac was having _fun_ this time round. I jumped off of the couch; book still in hand, walking towards the windows. It was a really sunny day today, like, _really sunny_. Not to mention warm. It was days like this when I wished that Derek would give into my idea of building a pool out back.

"Ok, it's called a Filius." I told them, turning around, facing to book towards them. "It's Latin for child or son. The bite turns the person younger, but we already knew that. You would think the longer the bite, the younger you would be, but no. Derek had the Filius biting him for almost five minutes and he only got five years knocked off. The others had _ten_ years knocked off."

"Then how?" Allison asked, frowning, sitting down on the floor with Scott on her lap.

I sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"From what I've read, it takes the person back to the age when they were at their most vulnerable, when they were enjoying life the most or to the age where they really needed someone the most..." I replied, not being able to keep my eyes from drifting over to Isaac.

Danny's hold on Isaac tightened and Isaac – not knowing why – just buried himself closer to his boyfriend.

"Does it say how we can kill it?" Lydia asked.

"Or who can kill it?" Allison added.

I winced slightly. The extract in the book was the shortest on that I had come across, it only talked about what it did and how. I laughed, nervously.

"Yeah, well, uh... That's the only problem." I muttered.

"What do you mean?" Danny asked, sitting up straighter.

"The book doesn't...really...say..."

Everyone went silent again as I stood there awkwardly. Isaac was now looking like his world had ended, while Jackson looked like he was about to faint. I slumped fully against the wall, letting myself slide down to the floor. I placed the book to my right, staring at the floorboards between my feet.

"It doesn't say." Boyd said. "Why not?"

"What's the point in putting it in a book, if it doesn't say how to kill it?" Erica asked.

"There must be a way to kill it." Scott added. "Right Stiles? There must be."

"You promised." Isaac and Jackson told me.

I ran my hands through my hair, cupping them against the back of my neck as I bent my head forward. I screwed my eyes shut as I let one hand drop, rubbing at the back of my neck nervously with the other.

"I'm gunna keep looking." I whispered. "I will find a way to get you back to normal."

"We know you will." Derek replied. "You always do."

My head snapped up quickly, when he first started speaking, a rare smile gracing his face. The words didn't sound teasing or sarcastic, but genuine, sincere. I was amazed; this wasn't the Derek we knew. But why was Derek acting less like himself, when the Betas were fine so far? What was different with Derek? Unless it was because he was an Alpha. Or because he was bitten for the longest amount of time. I really needed to look through those other books.

* * *

Later that evening – Danny was putting Isaac to bed, Allison putting Scott down for the night, Lydia doing the same for Jackson, while Derek dealt with Erica and Boyd – I had made a giant pot of coffee, had a load of it in the biggest mug I could find – with _a lot_ of sugar in it – and had said mug on the coffee table beside me in the living room, while I searched through more of the books. They had to have _some_ information on the Filius species. The book that I had first found the Filius in was sitting open to the other side of me on the coffee table, while the book I was currently on sat in front of the pile of books and in between my coffee and the other book. This was how I was going to stay awake and keep my promise.

I was probably sitting like that, taking sips from my mug every now and then, for five to ten minutes when someone wandered into the living room. I didn't need to look up to know it was Derek. I mean Allison, Danny and Lydia were so tired they were probably just going to go straight to sleep.

"You're staying up, again." Derek said.

"Yup." I replied, flipping through pages. "Have to keep my promise."

"What did you promise Isaac and Jackson exactly?"

"That I would find a way to get you all back to normal."

Derek sighed, saying nothing more on the subject. He probably thought I was stupid for promising such a thing, for getting their hopes up just in case we couldn't get them back to their normal ages. But then I felt him slide up next to me, leaving no space between us, taking a book off of the pile. I glanced at him as he opened the book.

"Two's better than one." he said simply, looking up at me and smiling, before turning back to the book.

"Yeah, guess it is." I nodded, slowly. "Thanks."

Derek shrugged, flipping through the book.

* * *

Derek had stayed up with me all night, going through half of the pile. We still had a few more to go, plus the load that Derek hadn't given to me yet to look through, but we got a lot done in those few hours. I decided that I liked the company when I was researching, especially when that company was a seventeen year old Derek. I was going to have to change his nickname...but to what? Snuggle-wolf? No, he'd _really_ rip my throat out with his teeth then... Same goes for Cuddle-wolf. Fluffy? No, he wasn't a cat. Maybe I should just go for Wolfy. But that's no fun. Bam-Bam? No, that was weird. Fuzzy? Hey, that could work! You could call a dog Fuzzy, so why not a werewolf.

"I need to take my Adderall." I mused, Friday morning, at half ten.

"Here." Derek said, handing me the bottle. "Picked it up before I came in here last night. Knew you'd probably be staying up again."

"Well, cheers, Fuzzy."

"Fuzzy?"

"Yup. I can't exactly call you Sourwolf while you're like this; you're too damn smiley all the time. Not that that's a bad thing! So I needed a new nickname for you and my brain came up with some weird ones before it landed on Fuzzy. So yeah, for the time being, you are Fuzzy, and I really need to take my Adderall right now."

Derek laughed as I cut off my speech with shoving my dosage of Adderall into my mouth before swallowing the tablets. They would take half an hour to kick in, but I would start to calm down a little and start to be able to concentrate almost straight away.

"You're funny." Derek grinned, leaning to the side and resting the side on his head on my shoulder.

Ok, what the fuck? Derek didn't do this. Derek _really_ didn't do this. Derek hated me. Didn't he? Well, the least I did was annoy him.

"Um... You sure about that?" I asked, sceptically. "You don't normally think I am."

"No, I do. I just pretended I don't." Derek sighed, a little sadly. "To get you to dislike me."

"What? Why?

Derek said nothing. He just lifted his head off of my shoulder and turned to face me, properly. I turned my head towards him, watching him, curiously. Derek shuffled closer, until there was no space between our legs or arms, and he started to lean forward. Closer and closer and closer, until...

"He guys." Danny yawned, as he walked to the kitchen. "Is there any coffee?"

"Um, no, sorry." I replied, standing up. "Haven't made another batch yet, I'll do it now. Want some, Fuzz Face?"

I looked down at Derek, noticing him frowning slightly, gaze fixed towards the kitchen.

"What happened to Fuzzy?" he asked, expression softening when he turned his face to me.

"Oh, come on. I have to change it up man." I grinned. "Keep it interesting."

I walked away, into the kitchen, wondering what the hell had just happened.

* * *

At some point during the day, Danny had been nominated to watch the Betas play, while Derek went for a run through the woods. The girls took this opportunity to corner me.

"So, you and Derek." Allison grinned.

"What do you mean, me and Derek?" I asked, panicking slightly.

"Oh, come on, Stiles." Lydia sighed, rolling her eyes. "We're not stupid. We see the looks you give him. You're crushing. And bad."

"But then, so is he."

"Derek's crushing even harder. If that's possible."

"Well, apparently it is."

"So, Stiles. You and Derek. What's the story?"

"Th-There's no story." I stuttered.

Both of them raised their eyebrows and crossed their arms at the exact same time. What was it with girls and being in sync with each other?! I sighed, deciding I might as well tell them the truth. I told them about how he would listen to me at night researching since we had been here, I told them how he voluntarily leant me his books, I told them how I though he kept making this whining noise when I was in the room, I told them how he stayed up with my all night and this morning to help me research and I told them how he acted this morning and how he almost kissed me.

"Really?" Allison asked, smiling and leaning forward slightly.

"That isn't even all that happened." I sighed. "I haven't even told you what happened last night."

"Tell. Now." Lydia demanded.

Honestly, how could I say no? She was scary, man!

_**Flashback – late Thursday night/early Friday morning** _

_So far the books hadn't given us anything interesting, but we were still going. We couldn't give up just yet. I started to reach for another book, not realising Derek was doing the same thing and the same time, until our hands knocked together. I pulled back slightly, as if I was burnt by the skin on skin contact._

" _Sorry." I said, sheepishly, turning towards him._

 _Derek's eyes had widened slightly, and he was... Oh my God, was Derek Hale, Big Bad Alpha,_ blushing! _Holy shit!_

" _Hey, Derek? You ok, man?" I asked._

" _Huh, what?" he spluttered, snapping out of a daze. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Absolutely fine."_

_I frowned slightly, letting to slide, reaching for the book again._

_I thought that would be it, but later on that evening, Derek had shifted even closer to me, going so far as to put an arm behind me as the book he was on stayed in his left hand. It was distracting, to say the least. But it didn't stop there. At times he would always find an excuse to touch me or something. But there was one thing that really got me._

_We were sitting there and I could feel him watching me, as well as see him out of the corner of my eye. He had been sitting there like that for seven minutes, just watching me._

" _Dude, do I, like, have something on my face?" I asked, putting the book I had on the coffee table._

" _No." Derek replied, simply._

" _Then why do you keep staring at me?"_

_Derek didn't reply. He shuffled closer, and started to lean in. Of course, as suspected, I was freaking out inside of my head, wondering what he was playing at. I mean, his normal twenty-two year old self wouldn't do this, so why was his seventeen year old self. I was panicking, but I was also excited. I mean, I wanted this to happen. But did I really want to happen with seventeen year old Derek, when twenty-two year old Derek would probably kill me? So, I did the only thing that came to mind._

" _Want some more coffee?" I asked, suddenly._

_**End of Flashback – back to Friday at 12:30 pm** _

"YOU STOPPED HIM!" the girls yelled.

I covered my ears after the first word left their mouths, feeling sorry that the Betas had such good hearing.

"Will you keep your voices down?!" I hissed. "And yes, I did. And I just told why, so don't ask."

The two stared at me in disbelief, like I was some crazy person. Didn't that just make you feel loved?

"You still should have let him." Lydia huffed, leaning back into the couch.

"I'd rather not get murdered by Derek when they change back." I muttered.

"You won't." Allison insisted.

"How do you know?"

"We just do." they both replied.

The hell!


	8. Thinking

I don't know when, or how, but at some point, on Friday night, I fell asleep. I was pretty sure sleep was completely out of my abilities now, unless it was late afternoon. Then again you can't really call that sleep, really it was only a nap, you know? But, _God_ , I never knew sleep could be so nice. It felt like years since I had slept properly, not days. To be honest, I had no idea on what woke me up, or why I woke up...but _man_ did I want to just go back to sleep! I think I deserved that! Sure, there was still quite a bit of research that needed doing, but it was a lot for just one person. Even if they had a werewolf helping them out. Sure, I get it. The Betas being turned into seven year olds means that people have to watch them and everything, but it just felt like I was being used really. Again. Yes, I knew I was pack. Yes, I knew pack suck together. But not once have I gotten a thank you. From anyone. So, the least they could do is let me sleep.

It was after my sleep dazed brain came up with that thought that I felt it. Something was being tugged, and that something was around me. Lying there for a few moments, gently rocking back and forth on my side, I realised it was a blanket. Someone was tugging on a blanket that was around me and... _Wait, are they saying something?_

"Stiles?" a small voice whispered. "Stiles, are you awake?"

I knew I recognised the voice, but I couldn't place it. Too sleepy. I sighed. _Need Adderall_. Slowly, I sat up and rubbed at my eyes, before leaning over to the table next to me taking my tablets. Luckily, I had a bottle of water placed on that exact table. After giving myself a few more moments to wake up, I turned to my right.

"Scott? " I yawned. "What's up, man?"

Scott shuffled a little as he stood there. Wait; hang on, where was I again? I looked around as I waited for an answer, finding that I was in the room that I had claimed when I had started staying here. I only noticed the time when I checked my phone, the bright light blinding me for a few seconds. 4:30 am. I groaned quietly, falling back onto the bed.

"Seriously, dude?" I whined. "Half four in the morning! Why?"

"I'm worried about you, Stiles." my, turned-seven-year-old, best friend suddenly blurted out.

Now that surprised me. I lay there for a moment, before sitting up again. I turned towards him, frowning in confusion.

"You're worried about me?" I repeated. "Why?"

"Dude, I've known forever." Scott sighed, rolling his eyes. "I can tell when something's not right. You don't really sleep anymore, we can all see that. You hardly eat, which is unusual for you. You seem to avoid being alone with Derek... And that's to name a few. So, yeah. I'm worried, man. You're my best friend."

"I am perfectly fine."

"That's a lie. And don't tell me it isn't, I can still hear your heart."

I sighed, not awake enough to deal with Scott's stubbornness.

"Fine. So what if I'm not sleeping or eating all that often. So what if having more people around than a quite Alpha keeps me awake." I relented, growing more annoyed by the second. "That's my choice, Scott. So, thanks for the concern, but just leave it. Ok? Now, please leave so I can go back to _sleep_!"

A small glare came from the seven year old, before he turned on his heels and – practically – stormed from the room. He closed the door behind him, gently, though. I let myself collapse back onto the mattress, closing my eyes and rolling onto my side. I shifted around, trying to find a position I was comfortable in, willing myself to go back to sleep. But I couldn't. I couldn't get back to sleep. Swearing under my breath in a growled sigh, I flipped back the duvet, went to brush my teeth and do other bathroom related stuff, before heading downstairs, frustrated.

* * *

Stalking into the kitchen, I started up a pot of coffee and made myself a small bowl of cereal. _How's this for not eating?!_ I glared at pretty much everything I laid eyes on, and only jumping a little when the coffee pot had finished bubbling away. I grabbed the giant mug I had been using for the past few days, filling it as much as I could and adding a shit load of sugar to it. Carefully, I carried it into the living room, taking a sip every now and then, placing it on the coffee table and picking up the book I had been going through the day before. I didn't get any further with it though, the things Scott had brought up at the forefront of my mind.

' _You don't really sleep anymore, we call all see that.'_ Well, I was sleeping when he came in, wasn't I?! Sure, I wasn't sleeping _every_ night or for very long, but that was because I had to figure this out. If I didn't figure this out then...then what could I do? What was my purpose? What did I have to offer?

' _You hardly eat, which is unusual for you.'_ Says the teenage werewolf who eats twice, maybe even three times, as much as he used too! Besides, I had breakfast. Kind of. Ok, so I would skip out on meals, but I would always have dinner. Granted I was always the one that _cooked_ dinner, but at least I ate. Wasn't like I was starving myself. I just...never thought about food. I was too busy looking through the books, making sure everyone was alright, reassuring them that I was going to find something. So I forgot about myself, big whoop. I wasn't the one that had been bitten with the 'Poison of Youth', as I had taken to calling it.

' _You seem to avoid being alone with Derek.'_ Right, that... Well... Ok, I had nothing. I mean, something freakier was going on with Derek. It was like, now he was seventeen again, he was... I don't know! But it gave me this weird feeling. I wasn't sure whether it was good or bad, but whenever it was just the two of us in a room, I remembered what happened when he helped me with the research that one night and the feeling would pop up. All I knew was I couldn't be left in a room, alone, with Derek. Unless I _really_ had to be. Otherwise, I would do something I would regret when we got everyone back to normal, and the Derek we all knew would probably kill me. I would rather stay alive and keep every feeling I had for him hidden.

 _GRRR!_ I didn't like thinking about this!

"Fucking Scott, making me think about these stupid things!" I mumbled to myself.

I glared down at the book I still held in my hands. Sighing, I forced it open, scanning through the pages, trying to find anything more on the Filius. I had a bad feeling it would take a while before I found anything useful.


	9. Mate

So, my Saturday – 2nd June 2012 – hadn't started off well, what with Scott's little interrogation thing. I was kind of in a bad mood ever since then, and no amount of coffee could change that. It was times like this that I wish my mom... Oh great, now I was sad! I sighed, putting down the fifth book I had been looking through that morning. My mom was the only one that had been able to cheer me up, or get me to talk about what was bothering me. The _only_ one. Man, did I need her right now. You know how people say 'ever boy needs his dad'? Well, sometimes they need their mom just as much. The situation I was in now was just one of those very times. I rubbed at my eyes with the heels of my hands, willing the burning sensation to disappear. No good would come from crying. Nothing came from crying. That's why I rarely ever cried. But I couldn't help how my throat suddenly started to constrict, and the burning behind my eyes intensifying. I turned on the couch, so my back was pressed to the arm of the sofa, curling in on myself as I did so, burying my head into the back of the couch. I dragged the blanket off of the back of the couch – it was the one that someone placed over me on the Thursday, when I had fell asleep on the floor – covering myself with it. Keeping my hands and arms under the soft material, I wrapped my arms around myself. Salty water dripped from my eyes without any warning, falling in slow steady streams down the side of my face and cheeks, silently.

I didn't know how long I had sat like that for, but at some point I had been joined by someone. I didn't look towards the door to see who it was, I just glared at the material of the back of the couch and continued to let the tears fall, not bothering to hide them or wipe them away. If it was one of the wolves, they would already be able to tell. I sniffled a little, a chocked sound escaping my throat at the same time. That was when the person moved from the doorway. They moved hesitantly, so it was probably one of the Betas. I didn't expect it to be Derek, though. Neither of us said anything. I continued to stare at the back of the couch, pretending not to notice Derek, while the Alpha in question sat watched me, wordlessly. Was it strange how I proffered this, as opposed to all the questions I would get if it was anyone else that had found me like this? Well, of course the answer was no, but silence compared to someone comforting you? Most people would go for the comfort. _Comfort_. _Mom._ A new set of warm tears stared to track down my cheeks, dripping on to my pyjama shirt. I hugged myself tighter, taking the blanket with me, since I had clutched parts of it in my fists. And Derek just...watched me. The whole time.

* * *

When I had finally calmed down, it was still only Derek and me downstairs. The tears had stopped and so had the noises that would sound in my throat every so often. There was complete silence, save for the sounds of breathing and the music of nature. My breathing started to slow down after a while, and that was when Derek slid closer, until his thigh was touching mu toes – so, he was _very_ close.

"What's wrong?" he asked, quietly, not demanding.

I shook my head, hunching in on myself. Derek reached over and placed a hand on my shoulder, gently.

"Don't lie, Stiles." Derek added. "Come on, you can tell me."

Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I? _Eugh!_ I didn't know! I didn't know anymore! Would it help if I finally told someone? Would it help to just...get it all out? It didn't seem to work with dad when he would try to talk to me about it, or when he talked to Melissa about it. It never seemed to help. Maybe it was better to keep it to myself. Oh, who was I kidding, even _I knew_ that was a lie! So, I took a deep breath.

"Scott...got me thinking. About a few things at half four, this morning." I explained in a whisper, voice hoarse. "I was down here when I started thinking, since I couldn't get back to sleep. I researched for a while, but then it would all pop back up. In the end... In the end I started thinking about my mom."

I swallowed thickly, trying to get some moisture back into my dry throat and mouth.

"She always knew what to do." I continued. "Always knew how to cheer me up, get me to stop hiding everything, get me to de-stress. She was great. Would have loved you lot, and would tell dad to stop being such an idiot and accept it all already. I just... I just _really_ need her, right now."

Derek didn't move, and neither did I. I couldn't see his face but, to be honest, I didn't want to at that moment. The grip he had on my shoulder tightened slightly, reassuringly.

"My mom was the same." Derek told me, I could hear the sad smile in his voice. "She was one of the sweetest people I had ever known, but she was stubborn, especially when it came to my dad. Always put him in his place."

Derek chuckled slightly, and the sound was so...unexpected. It was such a light sound, something you wouldn't expect to hear from the Alpha, no matter what age. Well, maybe as a really little kid, but my point still stands. Keeping my head firmly attached to the back of the sofa, I turned it so I could see Derek's face.

"Every night, since the fire, I look up at the moon, or stars, and just start talking. Pretending she could hear me." Derek sighed, as he continued. "She used to tell me, when I was younger, that the sky held all the wishes, secrets and simple words that everyone sent towards it. That those watching over us could hear everything we were saying. I still do it now; just thinking that maybe she was right. And that maybe, just maybe, she can hear me. That she can, my dad, Laura...the whole pack. I talk to them more when things get bad around here though...like this week, for example."

To say I was surprised was an understatement. One, that was the most I've ever heard Derek speak in one go, let alone on conversation! Two, he just talked about his family and something he used to do as a kid, and still does now! Derek doesn't do that! Or maybe it was the bite? Maybe the bite was affecting him differently, like making him confess to things he wouldn't without the bite? I needed to find out.

* * *

Everyone was downstairs a few hours after mine and Derek's conversation. I had started on the books again, Derek not sitting too far away in his chair. Derek had even started helping me again, the same as Allison. The three of us, flipped through the pages, trying to find anything to do with the Filius. There had to be something, somewhere! Derek had even gotten the rest of the books he owned out, so we could look through them. The Beta had interrupted at different time, Scott bothering Allison while the others came to Derek and me. We had told them the same thing over and over again, which was to go jump on Danny and Lydia. They must have taken that literally at one point, since a shriek and an alarmed yelp came from the front of the house.

So, yeah. Three of us going through the endless amount of books, looking for this fucking thing! I was sure we would find something soon. I had a good feeling about this. Well, I did have...

"Derek!" Danny yelled. "It's here!"

Derek was out of the living room in a flash, Allison and I following close behind. Stepping over the threshold and onto the porch, I saw it standing there, still as a statue. Black eyes tinted purple; sharp yellow teeth; oozy, sliming grey fur; four legs; large ears, pointed like a rats; dark, slimy, green blob of a tail. The picture was highly accurate. Derek let out a feral growl, the Betas copying the sound. No one moved. No one breathed. No one blinked. We just watched the creature as it looked at all of us, no expression on its 'face', if you could call it that.

It was then that it started to scurry off. Before any of us could move, Derek had jumped off of the porch, sprinting after it, the Betas copying this as well.

"NO!" Allison, Danny, Lydia and I yelled.

I groaned, hitting the side of the house. We couldn't follow them, they were too fast for us, and they would be far away by now. All we could do was hope they all came back alive and in one piece. If they did, then I would kill Derek myself for doing such a stupid thing! And stupid was supposed to be my thing, not his!

* * *

Allison, Danny and Lydia were all panicking like crazy people. Sure, I was worried, but this was like... _whoa_! I just stayed out of their ways, knowing it was better for them to get the crazy out now.

I had no idea how long we had been sitting there on the porch, but I knew it had been a while. It had gone past midday, that was for sure. I closed my eyes, leaning against the wall of the house, wondering what the hell they had been thinking when they had run off. Which was when I heard it.

"Oh my God!" Lydia breathed.

Opening my eyes, Derek and the Betas were making their ways up to the house. The Betas had small cuts and a bit of blood on them, nothing major. Derek, on the other hand, had large gashes, a lot of blood covering him and a bite on his left arm. But Derek, unlike the Betas, wasn't healing. At all. I turned towards the other humans, who were fussing over the five Betas.

"Go get the five of them cleaned up." I told them. I'm going back to the books. We need to know more."

I didn't wait for a response. I just turned on my heels and walked back into the house, picking up the books that Allison and Derek had left on their seats. With a new found determination, more that before, I scanned the books, desperately.

I thought, as I was scanning, that I could feel people watching me, staring as I hunched myself over, my eyes and neck straining badly. But I couldn't stop now. Not now. The feeling of being watched disappeared after a few moments, though one lingered more than the others. I didn't take much notice. Just kept my attention on what was in front of me.

* * *

Minutes later, the Betas all scrambled downstairs like nothing had happened, running around after each other. I just shook my head, surprised how they could do that, as Allison, Danny and Lydia followed them. The sound of someone – obviously Derek – walking into the room, made me glance up. Derek was still in blood and dirt stained clothes, no bandages is sight and no healing taking place what so ever. I will admit, I was hopeful when I thought he would let himself be stitched up or whatever.

Sighing, I placed the book onto the coffee table in front of me and jumped up. Upon reaching the Aloha, I turned him around and pushed on his shoulders, steering him back upstairs.

"Stiles, what the hell?" Derek asked.

I didn't reply, just continued to push him. Once on the landing, I shoved him through the bathroom door, shutting it behind me, when I had walked through. Walking over to the sink, I put the plug in the plug hold, and run the hot and cold water, until it was filled with warm water. I grabbed a flannel from one of the cupboards, as well as disinfectant and bandages from another. Derek just stood there and watched me as I went around the spacious room, but not glaring like him twenty-two year old self would, or trying to leave. Turning round to him, I pointed to the closed toilet seat.

"Sit." I told him, simply. "Shirt off."

I was slightly surprised when he complied without complaint, doing as I said. I didn't question it though. I wet the flannel thoroughly in the warm water, ringing it out, before turning back to Derek.

"Not going to lie, but his will sting." I warned.

Derek nodded, not moving apart from that. Sighing a little, I knelt down beside him on the bathroom floor, flannel in hand, and placed it to the bite mark on his left arm. All that came from him was a slight hiss of pain, nothing else. I didn't stop. The wounds weren't healing and if left they would bring infection. We didn't want that to happen. Plus, it would be uncomfortable having blood and dirt caked onto you.

* * *

Every now and then, I would clean the flannel before returning it to the wounds, moving on to a different one once satisfied that the last was clean. When it came to the larges gash, on Derek's torso, the Alpha let out a small whine, barely audible, though it echoed in the tiled room. I blinked a few times before continuing with me pattern.

When I deemed his wounds clean, I sprayed on the disinfectant on every wound I saw, before placing the bottle down and grabbing the bandages. A length of the material was wrapped around his left arm, to cover he bite mark, while a large portion covered his torso, covering the worst. The smaller cuts – similar to the ones the Betas had – I left to the open air. They would heal fine.

Standing up, I went around putting everything away and cleaning up.

"I don't see why you did so this in the first place." I mumbled. "Or why you didn't let Allison, Danny or Lydia."

"Didn't want them to." Derek said simply.

"Why?"

It was only the reflection of the mirror that allowed me to see Derek shrug in the form of his answer. I knew he was lying, I knew all the quirks and habits people in the pack had. They were east to identify once you knew what you were looking for, and luckily I knew that the shrugging-and-hands-in-pocket position was Derek's lying-pose.

I would have called him out on it, if he hadn't suddenly put his arms around me in a hug. That had confused and startled me, and I had no idea what I should have done. That was when he said it.

"Stiles," Derek sighed, happily. "I'm glad you're my wolf's mate."

I may have blacked out _just_ a little.


	10. Sleep

When I woke up, I was lying on the couch, and someone was talking _way_ too loudly for my liking. My head was throbbing, but I couldn't remember why. All I remembered was putting everything away after helping Derek clean up, because he was a stubborn pain in my ass, and then...nothing. I know he said _something_ to me, but I couldn't remember what.

The voices grew louder and louder as I was dragged further into consciousness. The main voices I could hear were of Lydia and Allison, berating Derek for whatever it was he had told me.

" _Look, it's good that you_ finally _told him, but did you really think Stiles would just shrug it off and go along with it?!"_ Allison asked, incredulously.

" _Well, no..."_ was Derek's reply.

" _Honestly, you think an Alpha would know better!"_ Lydia muttered. _"It was obvious Stiles would pass out after you so casually mentioned he was your Mate! He doesn't know werewolves_ have _them! Geez Derek, you should know this!"_

I groaned as the pitch and dynamics rose even higher, turning away from the noise, my face pressing into the back of the couch. I kept my eyes clenched shut as I curled in on myself. _Oh, right, Mate_. Now I remembered. Derek had wrapped his arms around my waist, said he was glad I was his Mate and then I passed out. All noise had stopped when I finally made a sound, all of them probably listening intently to figure out whether or not I was awake.

"Do you guys really have to be so fucking loud?" I complained, groaning again. "Seriously dudes, first time I had just woken up and my head was killing me. Now it's happening again while my head is throbbing. Honestly, what the fuck did I do to my head; it feels like it got hit with a sack of hammers!"

There were a few more moments of silence, no one saying or doing anything.

"You hit your head on the sink pretty hard." Danny explained to my back. "You've been out for a couple of hours."

"Well, looks like we found a way for you lot to get me to sleep." I mumbled, slightly incoherent. "Knock me out."

"No going to sleep, Stiles!" Lydia suddenly shrieked.

Groaning again, I rolled over again so I was facing everyone, opening my eyes slowly against the way-too-bright-light. Blinking, I kept my eyes half closed so I wasn't blinded by the light, allowing my eyes to adjust to it slowly. I stayed lying down on the couch, my head swimming and throbbing so much that I would probably throw up if I tried.

"Why not?!" I asked, not caring that I was whining like a kid.

"You have a concussion." Allison explained, softly. "We can't let you go to sleep."

If I could, I would have rolled my eyes... But again, head would implode if I did. Ok, maybe I was exaggerating things just a little, but my point still stands.

"Not true. If the person who is injured is awake and holding a conversation, you can let them fall asleep as long as they are not developing any other symptoms, such as dilated pupils or issues with walking." I protested. "Besides, I haven't slept properly since May twenty-sixth. That's a whole week, I'm knackered!"

No one replied. Just...silence. Sweet, sweet silence. Well, apart from the drum inside my skull, using my skull as part of the instrument. Right now, I was too focused on trying not to throw up to think about why I was feeling like this. If I started to think about what Derek had told me... Well, I dread to think what would happen this time round.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself up as slowly as I could, my vision blurring and going out of focus as I did. I gripped the arm and seat cushion on the couch when I was sitting upright, clinging on so I didn't fall sideways beck onto the couch or forwards onto the floor. I blinked rapidly, trying to bring everything back into focus, trying to see straight again. It took a few minutes before the blurring started to fade away and I was left with solid images. It was then, and only then, that I pushed myself onto my feet, wobbling slightly. I reached behind me, grabbing onto the couch again to steady myself.

"Stiles?" a voice asked, sounding distant and faint. "Stiles, you ok?"

I stumbled backwards a small step before finding my feet.

"Yeah, 'm fine." I mumbled again.

Letting go of the couch, I shuffled towards the kitchen, still wobbly. I didn't look back as I walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, gripping the counter tightly when I reached it. Luckily, the painkillers I needed were in the first aid kit, and one of the first aid kits were sitting on the kitchen counter, open. Something could actually go right.

Once I had a glass of water in one hand and painkillers in the other, I turned so my back was resting against the counter. It was always easy for me to take any kind of tablets, since I was so used to taking my Adderall. Even after I had swallowed the capsules, I stayed leaning back against the counter, closing my eyes. I would have loved it if the pounding in my head had started to go straight away, but no! Where was the fun in that?! Sighing, I pulled out a chair from the head of the kitchen table; thankfully the one closest to me wasn't too far away, dropping into as soon as it was out far enough. I rested my forehead against the cold wood, placing the glass beside it.

* * *

The next thing I knew, I felt hands on my shoulders, shaking me awake. I was brought out of unconsciousness slowly, and I noticed that my head didn't hurt as much as before. Carefully, I lifted my head up, only to have more painkillers pressed into my hand.

"Wha... I took some, like, two minutes ago." I mumbled, close to being incoherent.

"Actually, it was more like four hours ago." a voice told me.

I startled slightly. Of course it would be Derek. Sighing, I swallowed the tablets, before running a hand down my face. I felt like shit, and not just because I hit my head on the bloody sink. I rested my head in my hand, my arm propped up on my elbow on the table, refusing to look at the Alpha wolf. At least now I knew why he told me a bit about his past.

Derek sat down in the chair of to the side of mine, sitting there quietly. This was not the best way to be told that you were a werewolf's 'Mate'. Especially an Alpha wolf's. I glanced at him from the side, seeing him just staring at me like he did earlier that day.

Again I say: I _really_ needed my mom right now! I closed my eyes again, screwing them tight, I couldn't think about her right now. Not right now. I gently rubbed my forehead, before pinching the bridge of my nose. Man, I wouldn't be surprised if I had a permanent migraine after all of this.

"How's your head?" Derek asked eventually, unsure, in a quiet voice.

It was so strange hearing the big bad Alpha sound so much like a kid, even if he was only seventeen at the moment. The difference between this Derek and the Derek I had knew were at complete opposite ends of the spectrum, it was unbelievable. But the strange thing was, I could still see the older – twenty-two year old – Derek in this seventeen year old version. It made my head hurt even more.

"Killing me slowly." I mumbled.

"Sorry." he replied, sheepishly. "I didn't mean to..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just... Don't worry about it."

I pushed myself up, out of the chair, and made my way back into the living room. Allison, Lydia and Danny were sitting on the sofa, watching as Scott, Jackson, Isaac, Erica and Boyd continued to watch cartoons, not paying attention to anything going on around them. At least they weren't running around like crazy people, or still sunning after the Filius. Allison, Lydia and Danny all looked up as I walked in, none of them saying anything.

"Can one of you help me take the books upstairs?" I asked, exhausted. "Please?"

"Sure, I'll give you a hand." Danny agreed, collecting books as he spoke.

I picked up the ones that were closest to me, grabbing hold of the one I was still looking through. It didn't take long to get all of them together; most of the ones I had already looked at had already been put away.

* * *

Danny and I placed the books I still had to look at in the room I was occupying while we were here. They were either sitting on the mattress that was lying on the floor, or they sat in small piles around the perimeter of said mattress.

"So..." Danny said, standing there awkwardly. "How are you handling the..."

"Please, don't." I replied, whining slightly, not that I cared. "Right now, we have something more important to worry about, and that's getting all of them back to normal. So until then, just don't."

"Sure, ok, yeah. Do you need anything?"

"Nope. Got some water by the mattress, got a first aid kit in my bag, got my Adderall, and got food. I'm all good."

"Alright. Well, you know where we are if you need us."

I nodded before Danny left the room, shutting the door behind him. As soon as it closed, I walked over to it, flipping the lock into place. It was just to ensure that I was left alone, you know? Until I found out more about the Filius. At least then I'd be able to think. With no interruptions or anything.

But first things first. Sleep. I wasn't doing anything until I woke up.


	11. Hallucination

I woke up on Sunday afternoon, having _actually_ slept all of Saturday night and Sunday morning, no interruptions what so ever! I felt so much better after having gotten that much sleep. Smiling, I stood up and went to the bathroom. Luckily, there was one attached to the room I was in, so I didn't have to leave the room and run into anyone, risking being dragged downstairs.

I got to research straight away, after coming back from the bathroom, leafing through the books, desperately trying to find something that could be of use. I still had the book where I first found information on the Filius open, resting just to the side of me. At least that way I always had something to compare what I found too. But on Sunday, I found nothing.

On Monday I found nothing.

Tuesday, nothing.

Wednesday, nothing.

And then came Thursday...

* * *

Thursday 7th June 2012, woke up, did what I usually did on a morning, came back into the room and... And right there, standing by the mattress that was lying on the floor, was my mom. I froze in place, gaping. Claudia Stilinski. She had the same long, straight dark hair and startlingly bright blue eyes. She was slim and beautiful, her smile holding a slight mischievous edge to it. Dad always told me, when I was younger, that I got my troublemaking side from her. Apparently she was always getting herself into trouble at school when she and dad went, it seemed like trouble always found her one way or another. Yeah... I could see why I was like her. As I stood there with wide eyes, mom slowly started walking towards me, still smiling.

" _Hello, Genim_." she said, her voice echoing and soft, sounding distant.

There was a slight fuzzy haze around her, glowing a bright yellow-gold. As I watched her, I couldn't help but feeling a stinging in the back of my throat and behind my eyes, feeling the build up that only came before tears started to flow freely.

"Mom..." I breathed, almost inaudible.

" _Yes, Genim_." mom smiled. " _Oh, just look at you. My baby boy_."

I reached out a hand to touch her, when she was standing in front of me, my hand passing through her. I frowned, looking from where I had tried to put my hand and back to her face. She was still grinning. It looked almost robotic, lifeless. Yet so familiar. Could that be possible?

" _Look what you did, Genim_." she said, still grinning. " _First, I die because of you. And now look. Your friends are suffering, because of you. You're a terrible son, a horrible friend. Why do you keep allowing this to happen, Genim? Why?"_

My eyes widened, slightly, as I took a step backwards.

"I-I didn't mean too." I insisted. "I tried! I never wanted this to happen. None of it."

" _Yet you continue to let it._ " mom laughed. " _What use are you to anyone? Your father blames you, your friends resent you. I'm dead because of you. What good can you do, Genim? You can't even find one little monster."_

"But... But I..."

I closed my eyes as the burning sensation continued to grow, desperately forcing myself not to succumb to the feeling. When I opened them again, mom was gone. Disappeared. Nowhere to be seen. I twisted around, only to be met with the sight of how I left the room. Silently, I slumped down onto the mattress, dragging my knees up to my chest and encircling them with my arms, resting my chin on them. I didn't notice when the tears started to roll down my face, leaving hot tracks as they did. I also didn't notice how my hands were curled so tightly into fists, that my blunt nails were leaving deep indents in my palm, some breaking the skin and starting t bleed slightly.

_What the hell just happened?!_

* * *

I had more visits like that, from that terrible hallucination, on Thursday, as I was researching. Some of the things said... My mom wouldn't think such things. Would she? No! No, she would never say or think things like that! I may not have known my mom for as long as I would have liked to – as long as I should have –, but I knew her long enough to know she would never be so cruel! It was when the thing that looked like my mom came back when I was looking through one of the books, bringing with them a topic I didn't want to think of at that very moment.

" _An Alpha's Mate_." was all it said when it appeared.

"Shut up." I muttered.

" _Poor Derek_." it said. " _Stuck with you. You do know that he won't be able to find anyone else. Wolves mate for life. If you choose to ignore that, he'll become weak. Though he and the pack will be weaker if you stay_."

"I said: shut up."

" _It would be so much better if you just left. Disappeared. Everyone would be much hap..._ "

"SHUT UP!"

Someone knocked on the door then, and the image of my mom faded away instantly. I sat there, not realising that I was shaking slightly, from both and anger and confusion...with just a hint of fear.

I couldn't hear the words being spoken to me from the other side of the door, but the voice calmed me. Just knowing that there as someone on the other side of that door that cared about me, making sure I was alright, worrying. That grounded me.

"Come on, Stilinski." I mumbled to myself.

* * *

It had just gone four in the afternoon when I stumbled across a page in one of the thicker, older books that Derek had provided me with. I was growing more tired by the second, barely able to make my eyes stay in focus. Until I found that page. The name was in block capitals, bold and large, easy for me to read.

_**THE FILIUS** _

This was it! This is what we had been searching for. But did it have the information we needed? I attempted to read through the pages as best I could in the state I was currently in, trying to show that I _could_ be of use, that I _was_ useful. I pushed myself until the words all blurred together and everything went black.

* * *

When I woke up, books were open all around me, the room was a complete mess and I could hear a faint sound of whimpering coming from outside the door. I patted the floor by the mattress for my phone, pressing a button when I grabbed it so I could look at the time. Half ten in the morning. Ok, not too bad. I yawned, looking away from the bright light, glaring at me. Only to stop and lift the electronic device back up and press the button again.

It was no longer Thursday 7th June. It was now Thursday _14_ _th_ June 2012. I had been _asleep_ for _a whole week_! Well... Sure, I hadn't gotten the best of sleep since this had all started, and from the day I locked myself away in this room it had been even worse, but I didn't think it had gotten this bad.

Slowly, I dragged myself into the bathroom, going about my morning routine. But instead of going back into the bedroom straight away, I looked at myself in the mirror.

"Holy fuck!" I breathed.

The dark circles around my eyes were so dark it was unbelievable. Darker than I had ever seen anyone's. I looked like a skeleton, looking thinner than I ever had before, my pyjamas hanging off me in a startling way. My skin had been drained off colour, taking on a ghastly and sickly pale colour, looking almost like an off white. My eyes were dull, holding no spark that they usually did, tear tracks still noticeably running down my cheeks from my eyes. I looked lifeless, like a zombie. I was just an empty shell of the one formally known to people as Stiles Stilinski. Sighing, I returned to the mattress, picking up the book I had been looking at the week previous. That's when I read the title of the page I was on.

_**THE FILIUS** _

That's right! I found something that could help! Reading through it quickly, a small smile spread across my face, my lips bleeding from stretching the cracked skin. I couldn't care! This had what we needed! This had answers! To _everything_! Finally, we had _something_!

_HA! Take that hallucination!_


	12. Something

Grinning like an idiot, I jumped up from where I was sitting, rushing over to the door. Only to find that the door was blocked by a chair underneath the door handle and the fact it was half covered by one of the bedside tables in the room. _How the hell did that happen?_ In fact, how did this room get so messed up? Books were scattered everywhere, just like my clothes; pieces of paper had been ripped up; furniture had been knocked over. It looked as if a tornado had ripped through the room, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. I stood there, just looking for a moment, shocked. _Did I really do this?_

Placing the book on top of the bedside table, I pushed said table out of the way and removed the chair from the beneath the door. It took a lot more effort than I cared to admit to move the table, let alone the fucking chair! But in the end I had them both out of the way and the book was back in my hand. I moved back to the door, only to hear the soft sound of breathing. Obviously one of the wolves was waiting out there for me. The question was: which one? Sighing quietly, I opened the door, stepping out before closing it again. I had almost forgotten what the rest of the house looked like!

"Stiles?" a voice from the floor whispered.

Before I even got a chance to reply, or move, I was being hugged tightly. It took me a few seconds to remind myself that it was someone I knew and not something trying to hurt me. Though, when I saw who it was, it reminded me of what the hallucination had said.

"Derek?" I replied, confused, shocked. "How long have you been sitting there?"

Derek didn't reply. He just stood there, hugging me, until me decided that he'd drag me downstairs – gently – and into the living room.

* * *

In the living room, I found out why I was still barricaded in the room a week and a day after I had locked myself inside. The Betas, being as small as they were didn't have enough strength to break the door down, even together! Allison, Danny and Lydia didn't know if it was because I wanted to be left alone that I was still locked inside. Derek, on the other hand, was weaker. Not because he was smaller, in fact he looked the most like his normal self. But something was affecting his strength and I knew exactly what it was.

"It was the bite from the Filius." I told them.

"What? How do you know?" Lydia questioned.

I couldn't help but grin, showing them the page I had saved in the book. The first thing they say on the page was the huge, bold title.

"Yeah, that's right, I found it!" I beamed. "The bite from a Filius affects only werewolves, not humans, and affects an Alpha more, draining their energy, leaving them weak."

"Great!" Isaac blurted. "Well, not great, but... I mean... Well... I mean: great, we know more... What else do we know, Stiles?"

"Well, I know how we kill it."

Silence reigned after I let that bit of information slip, no sound but breathing and birds outside could be heard. The nine of them just stared at me, wide eyed, and waiting. My grin grew, not that I thought that was possible. I thought my face was going to split in half.

"Basically," I continued, not bothering to let anyone reply. "A human in the pack has to be the one to kill it, but the specifics of it are in Latin. So, Lyds..."

"Hand it over." Lydia smiled, holding out a hand. "I'll get it back to you ASAP."

"You are the best."

"I know."

Passing the book to Lydia, she immediately placed a piece of paper inside it to keep the page, closed it and hit me with said book. Which was a hardback. And large. So it was hard. And hurt. _A lot!_ So it wasn't my fault that I yelped just a tiny little bit...

"What the hell was that for?!" I squeaked.

" _You_ should have taken better care of yourself!" Lydia glared. "I don't care what your excuse is. Allison and I were even making a plan to kidnap you from your room and force feed you! Speaking of which, in that kitchen now, and eat!"

I didn't get a chance to move. Allison put her arm around me, practically dragging me into the kitchen and manhandling me down into a chair, before moving to the fridge.

I had to say...food did sound pretty good right about now...

* * *

I sat there quietly, not moving even an inch. Even though I had slept for _one hundred and sixty-eight hours straight_ – yeah, I did the math! – I still felt like I was going to fall asleep any moment now. I rubbed at my eyes, trying to keep them from closing. I swear, hallucinations take a lot out of you. Allison and Lydia noticed this though. Nothing got past them, unfortunately. Of course, they said nothing to me until they pretty much shoved a ten tone of food and water down my throat.

"Come on, spill." Lydia sighed, as they both sat down on the opposite side of the table to me. "What's wrong?"

I groaned quietly. There was no use putting it off. I mean, they would just bug me until they found out anyway!

"I... I saw my mom, when I was in the room." I muttered, almost inaudible.

"You were hallucinating?" Allison asked, hesitantly.

"Apparently. Not the best person for it to be."

"What happened?"

"I'd rather not repeat what it said..."

I shifted awkwardly where I sat, hopping to God that they didn't press the situation. You know, like friends were supposed to. But oh no, not these two. They just _had_ to know everything that was going on. So, it was all in vain that I tried to keep what was said a secret, since the two of them did end up demanding to be told. But that was when I realised that I didn't have to tell them everything that was said. I could just skip out the parts where it mentioned Derek, or...or _other_ things I _really_ didn't want to talk about... _ever_.

"Come on, Stiles. It can't be that bad." Allison smiled, warmly, encouragingly.

I sighed, and ended up relaying to them the gist of what the hallucination had said about me being the cause of all of this, how everyone would be happier if I just disappeared. To be honest, I couldn't help but think of how that was actually true. How they _would_ be better if I just left, if they didn't have to put up with me. It was probably my fault anyway that the wolves in our pack were like this. I mean, it was always the pathetic loser that created the stupid messes that everyone else had to clear up. Sometimes, not all of the time, but very rarely, I wondered if I should try again. Try again and actually do it. The last time I tried, I thought of my mom and how she would react if she was there, and I stopped. When the thought of my mom popped into my head, I could let my mind drift for hours on end. Just thinking about all the things I remembered about her, all the things we did. It got to the point – when I was thirteen – where dad thought I was going to completely abandon reality and just live inside of my head, with 'mom'. He took me to see doctors and everything. I could see why he was worried. Though I don't think he knew how serious it could get. But, damn, I sure as hell did know.

Of course, I didn't realise that I said all of that aloud. Not until I caught sight of Allison and Lydia's reactions. It was then I stood up, deciding to get some fresh air.


	13. Trust and Need

I breathed in the fresh air as I walked around the edge of the woods by the Hale house. I always did like the outdoors, the clean air always cleared my head, allowed me to think – _really_ think. I liked the rain, I liked listening to storms, I liked walking through the trees. I liked watching the clouds, it made me relax, it made everything so peaceful. Mom and I used to watch the clouds all the time back when she was alive and dad was at work. She would put a picnic together, we'd walk through the woods until we found a field, we'd eat and pack everything up before lying back on the picnic blanket to watch the clouds, trying to make shapes out of them. She always created stories based on the shapes she would see. My favourite was the one with the wolf that was looking for a friend, but everyone was scared of him, until he found this energetic puppy. She always put that dog into it, saying that that particular character reminded her of me...

She would even make those stories up for me when I was ill or upset, and man did I need one of those stories right about now. I mean, it was so stressful: the Filius, five seven year olds and another seventeen year old, finding out I'm an _Alpha_ werewolf's 'Mate'. But they all knew. All of them, but me. That didn't help when you already felt useless. You would think, being the researcher, I would have been told that werewolves take Mates. You know, for future reference. But they kept it a secret from me.

_That's how Allison and Lydia knew Derek won't go all Scary-wolf if I let him kiss me, or whatever. That's why they were so annoyed I stopped him._

It was nice to know that my _friends_ trusted me.

* * *

I didn't go too far from the house before I sat down under a tree, leaning against the trunk. I looked towards my Jeep, wondering if I should just jump in it and drive around for a while. I decided against it, not knowing if I'd be able to, since my head still hurt from the hitting-it-on-a-sink thing. So, sighing, I stayed put; stayed under the tree.

Looking up, I watched as the clouds floated effortlessly through the sky, some just fluffy with no shape whatsoever. Others though created figures and objects. Well, to me they did... I spotted: a face; a duck; a dragon; a boy standing next to a wolf... Ok, so after the last one I looked away. I couldn't help that the whole Mate thing was on my mind, not knowing if I was ok with it or not. I mean, sure, I had a tiny – lie! MASSIVE – puppy crush – ha, see what I did there – on the Sourwolf-turned-Fuzzy/Fuzz Face... But obviously there was a reason why he didn't tell me about this whole me being his Mate thing. Maybe they really would be better off if I just...left. They wouldn't have to worry about getting any headaches or someone messing up their plans for being too loud.

"They wouldn't have to worry about clumsy, pathetic Stiles." I sighed to myself.

"You're not pathetic." Derek's voice sounded, startling me, before he sat next to me, leaving a bit of space. "Clumsy, yes. Pathetic, no. Even if you weren't clumsy we'd still worry."

I let out a small, dry, humourless laugh, staring at the grass in front of me.

"Yeah, everyone worry about the squishy human, he's too incapable of being normal to look after himself." I spat, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"That's not..." Derek started.

"That's not what?! That's not true?! Bull shit! If I was even the tiniest bit normal then I wouldn't be such a liability! And I know I am, so don't try saying I'm not."

"Stiles..."

"I mean it, Derek! I..."

Neither of us would ever find out how that sentence was going to end. No, words had stopped coming out of my mouth the moment Derek decided to shut me up by kissing me, not holding back when he shoved his tongue in my mouth from the beginning. I had no idea what to do. I sat there, frozen, eyes wide, as Derek's hands cupped my cheeks and his eyes were closed, a crease between his eyebrows. I, literally, couldn't move. Not even to push him away if I wanted to.

When he actually pulled away I still couldn't do anything. Nothing besides breath heavily, trying to get oxygen back into my system.

"Everything you said, is a lie." Derek growled. "You are Pack, which means you are family. None of us, no matter who complains, would change you or want to get rid of you. We need you! Fuck, Stiles, _YOU KEEP US TOGETHER_!"

I still couldn't do anything. Just sitting there, eyes wide.

"I heard everything you told Allison and Lydia. About what happened in your room." he muttered, quietly. "I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't get in and I don't know why. I thought... I don't know what I thought, but I was worried. A-And I meant what I said... I-I _am_ glad you're my wolf's Mate."

He sat there for a moment, just looking at me... Then he just got up and walked away, walked back into the house.

* * *

I sat there. I didn't know what to do. So I just sat there, for...God knows how long. I swear I must have stayed outside for hours. And I was right. As soon as I walked back into the Hale house, it was already dark and the Betas were asleep. I was the only one actually downstairs. I grabbed some more painkillers and water, deciding now was a time for hot chocolate. I grabbed everything I needed, after taking the pills; – thank God the house was well stocked – setting it all out in a group on the counter next to my mug. I jumped up onto the counter, in-between the kettle and the small group I had gathered wrapping my arms around myself as I waited for the kettle to boil.

This was turning out to be a crap day. _The_ crap-est! I felt drained, sick, exhausted. I wanted my dad. I wanted my _mom_! Man, I haven't had days like I've had this way since... Well, since my mom died... I know what you're thinking; the thing with Derek should have cheered me up, right? Well, it didn't. It made me feel worse. It sucked major balls.

I didn't even realise that I had started crying. Not until I felt the warm salty liquid fall onto my hand. Come on, you can't blame me! I mean: stress + barely any sleep + confused + ADHD + bombshell being dropped = breakdown! I think I was kind of allowed to cry at this point. I tried to be as quiet as I could, not wanting to wake anybody up and have to answer any questions. That would only make it worse.

* * *

Ten minutes later, I was sitting on the couch in the living room, large mug of hot chocolate in both of my hands, watching some crappy show on the TV, volume down so low you couldn't actually hear it. The only light in the room was coming from the TV and the small lamp on the table beside me. I sighed, as my eyes scanned over the book I had given Lydia earlier, a notepad tucked in to it, keeping the page.

_Might as well take a look._

I shifted the mug into my left hand, grabbing the book with my right, careful not to let the notepad drop out of it. As soon as I was leaning back on the couch again, I placed the book on the seat cushion next to me, opening the book. I tried clearing the water from my eyes, before taking the notepad, not that it was any use. Picking up the notepad I noticed that it wouldn't matter if I lost the page. Lydia, the smart girl, jotted down the page number – just in case. Looking further down, I noticed that she had already finished the translating... Man, she was brilliant!

"Right, let's get this over with." I muttered to myself.

I curled my left hand towards me, cradling the mug between my hand and my shoulder as I looked over what Lydia had written. Not only was there specifics on how to kill the Filius, but it also had information on where it was usually found and what it did... Well, the more we knew the better, right?

I hadn't been sitting there for much longer – since the tears hadn't stopped – when someone walked in. I didn't look up though, just continued to look through the translations as I drunk the warm liquid from the much in my hand. It was quite easy to ignore them really, as I got caught up in my reading, not that I had read anything past the third line. I just kept going over and over it. It was frustrating; it was like I wasn't actually taking the information in.

Sighing again, I rubbed a hand over my face, more of the salty water from my eyes spreading over my face, placing the book and notepad back onto the table – I'd look in the morning. I then flopped back, letting my head drop back, leaning it against the back of the couch. I placed the now empty mug on the table next to the lamp, running my hands through my hair, face red and wet. That was when whoever walked in joined me on the couch. I didn't look up to see who it was, I could tell by the black jeans and black boots. For a moment, neither of us did anything, we just sat there. That was until, hesitantly, he wrapped his left arm around my shoulders, dragging me further towards him. I couldn't be asked to put up a fight, so I ended up leaning heavily against his left side. His right arm crossed himself to wrap around me as well.

"You wouldn't be able to leave us." Derek whispered. "Just like we wouldn't be able to leave you. We need you, Stiles."


	14. Friday, 8th June 2012

I woke up the next morning – Friday 8th – lying on something that definitely wasn't the bed I had been using since we started staying at the house, with something behind me. So, understandably, I freaked out, thinking something had happened. My eyes – still closed – were wide as I struggled to get away, but whatever I was lying on just grew tighter around my torso. Shit! Was I tied up? Am I tied up?! Yeah, so, internal freak out was becoming a panic attack fairly quickly. I started shaking; breathe coming out in short gasps as my heart pounded in my chest. I started to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen getting to my brain; sweating and starting to feel sick. Yep, definitely a panic attack! The only people that could actually deal with and stop my panic attacks were Scott and dad – mom could when she was alive. They knew the right things to say to calm me down, always knew. No matter what the situation, somehow they both knew. That had been helpful over the years. But none of them were here now, wherever here was. I mean, right now I didn't really want to open my eyes... God knows what I would see!

It was then I felt something brush the back of my neck, lightly. I froze, fearing that whoever was behind me was going to... I don't know! Attack or something?! How should I know?! And then I heard it. I heard a voice near my ear, making my eyes go wider and open, but making the escalating panic attack start to subside.

"Morning, Stiles." was all Derek yawned, moving closer, pressing his face into the back of my neck, tightening his arms around me and bringing me closer.

Only then did everything from last night come back to me – even Derek kissing me. But I never remembered falling asleep! I remembered what he had said, but I couldn't help but to doubt it. Did they really need me? Or was he just saying that? I didn't even know. I could never tell! What did they really need me for; if Derek already had so many books on every 'big bad' we could every encounter – Allison too, for that matter. Why was I around if they had that? Scott didn't need me anymore. Isaac was perfectly fine now. Jackson didn't really need anyone else on his side now. No one else needed me. So why keep me around?

This time when I started to struggle against Derek's hold, he seemed awake enough to let me go. I rolled off the side of the couch that we were still on, fast walking towards and up the stairs. I needed a shower. A nice, long shower.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was an hour later when I reappeared from the steamy, watery goodness. Seriously, I never realised how the pressure of the water could ease the tension in my shoulders and neck, making me relax for the first time in a week and five days.

I chucked on whatever clothes were clean, sighing, before making my way back downstairs and into the kitchen. Well, that was what I had tried to do. As soon as I had stepped off of the stairs, I was bombarded by five seven year olds. I would have fallen backwards if not for their combined strength keeping me upright. I couldn't help but laugh really, though I didn't really know what to do. Sure, my little cousins did this to me whenever I saw them, but that was because they were young enough to get away with it. These guys...yeah, I knew they were actually seventeen – it was annoying that I wasn't seventeen until August 26th.

"Good morning, to you all too." I chuckled, keeping my hands and arms raised in a surrender position, not knowing what to do with them. "What's up with you guys this morning, you haven't done this since becoming like this?"

"We were worried." Scott said.

"Last night you were sad." Isaac added.

"You hug us when we're sad." Jackson agreed.

"But you left before we could." Boyd told me.

"So we're doing it now." Erica finished.

I nodded, slowly, even though they couldn't see it.

"Well, thanks for the concern guys, but I'm fine." I told them, smiling slightly. "I'm still alive, aren't I? Now come on, let me go and I'll make breakfast."

"Pancakes?" all five asked, raising their heads as one to look at me.

I laughed, nodding again, to which they immediately let me go, following me into the kitchen. I couldn't help but role my eyes at the puppy like behaviour.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I swear I was going to use this as blackmail material. Especially for Scott. I mean, I was even able to – sneakily – take a few pictures with my phone. At the moment, they were all sitting at the table in the kitchen, bickering like always. It was a little funnier to watch they were like this. It even made me smile! Wow, never thought I would feel relaxed until all of this was over!

I leant back against the kitchen counter, keeping an eye on the Betas, while making the pancakes, waiting for one of the others to wake up and get down here so I didn't have to do two things at once. Of course, as soon as I thought that, Derek came into the kitchen, smiling a little. As soon as he sat down, I turned back to the pancakes, so they wouldn't burn. Of course, that didn't stop from a loud smash coming from the table, as I slid the last of the pancakes onto a plate, and everything then going quiet. Even I cringed at the sound. Turning around slowly, after turning the gas off, I saw wide eyed Betas, a very scared looking Isaac and a slightly pissed off Derek. Putting a few plates of the pancakes onto the table – you needed like ten plates with this lot – I cleared up the glass on the floor, before persuading Isaac – who decided he didn't want to eat anymore – to go outside with me for a moment, sitting on the steps.

"Hey, what happened?" I asked the shaking seven year old when we were on the porch, sitting down on a lower step to him so we were the same height.

I swear, he looked like he was going to cry! I hadn't seen him this shaken in awhile.

"We were only messing around." he replied in a quick whisper. "We didn't mean to break anything. Jackson just chucked me a glass, but I missed and it fell and it made a loud noise and..."

Isaac trailed off into a whimper as he started crying. Without thinking, I pulled him into a hug.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault." I told him. "You don't think when you're having fun, and you didn't mean to miss it. Ok? Come on, it's ok, pup."

"Y-You're not mad?" Isaac asked, tearfully.

"No, course not! Why would I be mad?"

"My dad always was."

Frowning, my heart clenching at those four words, I hugged the guys tighter. This was going to be weird when they were all back to normal, but right now I couldn't care any less!

"It's ok, Isaac." I insisted. "Your dad... None of us are like him. You don't have to be scared, or worried. We won't ever hurt you like he did, I promise. And if anyone does, you better come straight to me and I will sort them out. I don't care who it is, you come and tell me. Ok? We're family, dude. We protect and look after and love our family!"

I felt Isaac nod against my shoulder. Words could begin to describe how I hated to see anyone in the Pack like this. I wished I could just take away all their pain, just so they could stay happy all the time. I knew how hard life could be and how bad it sucked! I hated that they all had to go through something like that too.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Isaac did end up agreeing to come back inside and eat something and, much to Isaac's appreciation; no one said anything about the glass incident. Of course, Isaac did stay quiet for the rest of the day and was even more glued to Danny that usual, but besides that he was fine.

Things with Derek were more awkward, and I had no idea what to say to him now. So I just got busy looking over the translations, that Lydia made, that I had tried to look at that night before. This time I could actually read them – probably because I actually got sleep the night before! I scanned over them quickly.

The Filius was found in the mountains on Rome, keeping whoever lived their young. It was told that a man had lived up there with a Filius for over two centuries, staying alive by the bite it would give him, before he decided he was ready to die. It was unusual for a Filius to venture away from the mountains of Rome – especially to a place like Beacon Hills. It was said that the Filius was a peaceful species, only biting when it feels threatened or has been asked to. The bit is quicker when it feels threatened, but can only affect humans if it is asked. To kill a Filius, the person had to be human. There was no specific gender, just that they had to be human, that he or she had to be the youngest out of a set group of people, and had to be important to each person that had been bitten. If they did, the human had to capture the Filius, place it in boiling water, take it out, put salt on it and then set it on fire. Lovely...

I glared at the notepad, re-reading the part about what the human had to be over and over again.

"Stiles?" Danny asked, after a few moments. "Everything ok?"

I turned the notepad to him, letting Danny read the translations.

"Oh." was his reaction.

"Yup." I said.

When Allison, Lydia and Derek all wanted to know what was going on in that moment, I sighed and told them that the text had basically described me. I would have to kill this thing whether we liked it or not. The question was, how were we going to get it?


	15. A Plan

So this was all down to me. Yeah, no pressure at all! At least I could get the others – well, some of them anyway, no way were the Betas getting involved until they were back to normal – to help me catch it. So at least I wasn't the alone with that one. The rest of it, just me. If I did one thing wrong then we were screwed. I mean, the Betas were already acting a lot like seven year olds – just look at how they acted at breakfast – and Derek was acting so _not_ like himself it was unbelievable. If I mucked up one thing, one tiny little thing, then they could stay like this. _Forever_! I didn't think any of us could live with that!

I groaned as I paced on the front porch, running my hands through my hair. _Why me?!_ It couldn't have been someone that wasn't a complete failure! I mean, I was the reason Derek was bitten in the first place! If he wasn't so distracted because of my big mouth, we wouldn't even be in this mess! Sighing, I leant against the wooden railing that ran along the porch, staring down at the ground below. _I don't know what to do! Mom would know what to do._

"Mom always knows what to do." I mumbled, before look up towards the cloudless sky – might as well give it ago. "I miss you, mom. I miss you, so much that it hurts. I wish... I really wish I could just... I wish you were here. I need you to tell me what to do, because I have no idea... And I'm scared, and no one seems to get that. So, yeah... I miss you, mom."

I had lost count over how many times I had cried these past twelve days, but I didn't care. I don't think there was ever a time before these twelve days that anyone – apart from Scott and my dad – had seen me cry. _Ever_. This had to be an accomplishment of some sort.

I sighed when I realised someone was standing behind me. Man, what was it with people and watching me?! It was creepy! But I couldn't tell if that was creepier than me somehow seeming to know who it was watching me, or not.

"Feels good to let it out, huh?" Derek asked in a small voice, sounding hesitant. "I find it really helps in stressful situations..."

I nodded, furiously scrubbing at my eyes. I hated it when I cried, I never liked it. But Derek just reached over with his left hand and grabbed my wrists, drawing them away from my eyes. Searching in his pocket with his right hand, Derek pulled out a tissue from the packet he seemed to keep with him, passing it to me.

"You shouldn't irritate your eyes like that." he sighed, letting go of my wrists. "Do it gently, or else."

I nodded again. I couldn't be bothered to fight any more. I just wanted this to be over with already.

"I'm stupid." I mumbled, still staring down, using the tissue to wipe my eyes.

"No, you're not." Derek told me, matter of factually.

"Yes I am. I'm _crying_ for God's sake! I'm bloody crying, and I feel so s _tupid_!"

"That doesn't make you stupid!"

And that's where he was wrong...

"Yes it does! I don't cry! I haven't cried since my mom died! You wanna know why I'm normally so Goddamn happy?! It's because I'm trying not to let anything get to me, trying to keep myself together, even though each die I am dying just a little bit more inside! I haven't been able to grieve properly for my mom, because I've been taking care of my dad and dealing with all of this supernatural shit!" I yelled, despite the fact that I knew everyone would be able to hear me, more tears coming as I continued and turned to face him. "I try, everyday, to stay positive. Because I don't want to cry and let everything come rushing out. Because that...that would just hurt too much and I don't like it! It would make me remember all the shit that's happened since my mom first got ill up until now. It would make me see just how worthless I actually am; how much of an outsider; how much I don't belong. And don't tell me I do, Derek. If I did... If I did then wouldn't feel like such a complete idiot all the time and I wouldn't have you: glaring and growling at me all the time, throwing me into walls or threatening to rip my head off with your teeth every other day."

Looking up at Derek, I saw that he was slowly cracking too. I instantly felt guilty; I didn't mean to make him feel bad or whatever!

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "I didn't mean... You see, this is why I don't cry; this is why I'm really of no use."

Then I was being squished by an Alpha wolf – though I could still breathe. For a second time, I didn't fight it and just hugged him back; it was nice, it felt familiar.

"But you _are_ , Stiles." Derek insisted, voice breaking a little. "We need you; I need you. Do you really think that the Pack would still be together if it wasn't for you? Scott and Jackson would have killed each other by now; Danny and Isaac wouldn't have gotten together, and Isaac wouldn't be so relaxed with us like he is now; Boyd wouldn't have started to let us get to know him... No matter what you think, we need you. You belong with us. Like you said to Isaac: we're family, we protect and look after and _love_ our family! I know how scary this all must be, but you have us. You don't have to hide anything. You can tell us anything and we will help you, Stiles. You are not worthless, you are not an outsider, you are not pathetic, you are not anything like that... Please, just believe me!"

Neither of us said anything after that. It was the first time I had ever heard Derek beg. He seemed...vulnerable, not like he did yesterday. I hated seeing him like this, this wasn't him! I was more determined than ever to get rid of the supernatural asshole, to return my friends back to normal.

* * *

We – Allison, Danny, Lydia, Derek and I – spent the rest of the day trying to put together a plan, while watching the Betas. Things were still awkward with Derek because of what happened yesterday in the woods, this morning and out on the porch, but I could worry about that after we killed the Filius.

It was hard trying to think of a way to catch it... I mean, it wasn't the easiest thing to catch. It wasn't even the easiest thing to track!

"Derek, what was the first thing you told me about this thing?" I asked quickly. "The first time we were all trying to find it."

"I don't..." he started.

"Think! Quick!"

"Um... Something about... Oh! The scent is different for everyone. Even humans can smell it."

"Exactly! Isaac, he said it was candy. What was it for you guys?"

The four of them looked to each other, thinking, trying to remember what it was they had smelt when we had faced it.

"The sea." Danny smiled. "Reminded me of when my dad taught me to swim in Hawaii."

"Victoria cruziana's." Allison whispered. "My dad's favourite flower, though he won't admit it."

"Popcorn." Lydia laughed, slightly. "Mom and dad loved to take me to the movies when I was little."

"My family." Derek said, seeming a little embarrassed. "Old and new."

"And for me it was my mom's perfume." I told them.

A plan was slowly forming in my head. Sure, they probably weren't going to like it – Derek especially – but it was the only one we had. And we needed to act quickly.

"Ok, so we know how we can find it. All we need is to figure out how to trap it." Allison mused.

"I have an idea." I mumbled.

"Yeah? What is it?" Danny asked, grinning, getting excited.

Even the Betas stopped to listen, slowly gathering around to hear my master plan.

"In the translations it said that it could only turn a human younger if consent is expressed." I told them. "I'll be bait. Saying I want it to make me younger. As soon as it gets close enough we'll trap it in a...I don't know, trap it in a box."

And cue the yelling.


	16. This Is Real Life, Not A Story

" _You cannot be serious!"_

" _No! You're not doing that!"_

" _We're not risking you, Stiles!"_

" _That... NO!"_

" _There has to be another way!"_

They were only five of the things that were shouted as soon as I had revealed my plan, which was ten minutes ago. I couldn't even pick out the others, or who said what, since they were all being yelled over the top of each other. Sighing, I fell backwards into the couch, running my hands through my hair.

"That's the thing." I told them. "There isn't. If there was, we would have thought of it by now."

All of them began to speak again, but Allison was the loudest. She cut over everyone, making them shut up as she spoke.

"Stiles, we _can't_." Allison insisted. "If you get bitten..."

"If I get bitten then it would be easier for you to grab it. Then I could kill it when I woke up as a kid." I nodded. "But I won't get bitten, so we don't need to worry."

" _But you can't..."_

" _Why does..."_

" _Why can't..."_

" _Do you..."_

" _What if you..."_

I stood up, effectively silencing all of them. I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes, dragging my hands down my face. I think the wolves could smell the stress coming off me, especially since I then had all five Betas clinging to me somehow.

"Thanks guys." I whispered to them, as they stared up at me and smiled.

Boyd and Erica detached themselves then, leaving only Scott, Jackson and Isaac clinging... Though I doubted they'd let go yet. So I sat on the floor – still have no idea how I managed it without sitting on the three of them –, letting them climb onto me and sit beside/on me. It was a good thing I was more of a dog person, wasn't it.

"It's the only way." I sighed. "I'm going to do it... Even if it's by myself."

"To hell if you think you're doing this alone!" Danny protested.

"Then you will all have to give in now."

"But..."

"I mean it. I'm not backing down. We could put an end to this quicker if you just agree now."

* * *

It took _a lot_ more convincing and promises...and, ok, maybe some begging and puppy eyes...but in the end they all agreed, even if reluctantly. Even the _Betas_ – although they didn't like the idea much, either – agreed that it was the only way for us to go about this. The only thing we had to do now was find it and catch it. So, since it was getting lat, we decided to wait until morning. It would be easier for us humans to see then, meaning I would less likely be bitten.

Derek had been sulking in his room ever since everyone else had agreed to the plan, not coming out for anything. I had been sitting there, on the couch still, debating whether or not I should go and talk to him... I mean, he always seemed to pop up and be there for me when I was at a low point. But would he want me too, or would he just yell?

"...iles? Stiles?" a voice brought me out of my inner musings.

Blinking a little, I looked up to see Allison and Lydia standing in front of me. Danny had been given the job of Beta watching, then.

"We know Derek kissed you." Lydia grinned, smugly.

Of course they did, I shouldn't even be surprised.

"We saw from the window."Allison giggled.

I looked from one girl to the next, assessing them with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, and?" I asked, curiously.

"We told you so!" Lydia laughed.

"How?!"

"Oh, come on! We've been telling you for the past few _months_ that he wanted you. Well, maybe not in those words, but still."

"And Danny has been telling you too." Allison added. "So, we told you so."

Again, I sat there looking from one to the other, before rolling my eyes and shaking my head.

"Stiles, you cannot say that, after this all over and done with, when Derek is back to normal, that you won't _finally_ just give in." Lydia stated. "When he's back to being twenty-two again, he will so totally be the same as he is now. Then we can celebrate that the wool has been removed from your eyes, and that you two would have gotten together, at last."

"That's not going to happen." I replied.

"Why not?" they demanded.

"Because this is real life, not a story. It's not a fairytale where everyone gets a happy ending. Trust me, I know what's going to happen, and that will be: same Sourwolf, trying to forget everything. And that's only _if_ they remember what's happened these past twelve days."

"Stiles..."

"No, it's true. And I've accepted that. I've accepted a lot of things in life. I'm used to it."

And with that I stood up and left the living room.

* * *

I didn't have to worry about Derek overhearing what I had said to the girls. A few rooms in the house – including his – were soundproof. It was the only way to ensure privacy in this place, what with six werewolves around. As I made my way to his door – easily identified by the fact it had his name on this little plague-thing. I knocked on the door and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It was obvious from the start that he didn't want to talk, so I sighed and went into the room I had been using – the one next to his. I closed the door – not locking it this time, before collapsing onto the mattress, pulling out my laptop.

The disc that I had wanted to watch was already in the drive, so once it was loaded I just opened the drive before pushing it back in – I preferred doing it this way, so shush – pressing play when he menu screen came up. Flipping over onto my stomach and crossing my arms so I could rest my chin on them, I watched the first scene on the disc play out.

_**August 26th 1995 – Claudia Stilinski's POV** _

" _Say hi, honey." John chuckled, pointing the camera at me._

_I looked up from where I was watching our son, grinning at John. He had insisted that we record this moment._

" _John, please. I look dreadful; get that camera away from me." I laughed, looking back to our beautiful baby boy._

" _Oh, come on, Claudie." John persisted, not able to stop smiling. "We need to save this moment. You never know, he might want to watch this when he's older."_

" _I hope not."_

_The baby in my arms moved in his sleep, his tiny hand clenching softly in the air, before unfolding. He was perfect. My perfect little boy. Just perfect. Carefully, trying not to wake him, I pressed my lips to his little forehead. He was just so tiny! It amazed me at how tiny he was, fitting perfectly in the space between my hand and elbow._

" _We still need a name for this little guy." John mused, softly. "Still want to use..."_

" _I do." I interrupted. "Do you?"_

" _Of course, honey. Kind of suits him, huh?"_

" _It really does. Genim Alexander Stilinski. Perfect. Just like him."_

_**May 31st 1996 – John Stilinski's POV** _

" _Come on, Genim. Walk to mommy." Claudia called, gently, from one side of the living room._

_Genim was already nine months and five days old. Time had gone by so fast. Claudia and I had wondered where time had gone from when we brought him home till now. I remembered when Claudia first told me she was pregnant. I was so excited – I was going to be a dad! And now, here he was. My son. Claudia was amazing with him, she had taken to motherhood like breathing, it came so naturally to her. It was harder for me to get into the role of 'dad', but as time went on it was getting easier. I hated going to work in the morning, always wanting to be at home with the pair of them, but somehow I managed to drag myself away and head to the station, looking forward to when I could come home. It was always days like these – my days off – that I looked forward to the most._

" _Come on, walk to mommy." Claudia smiled._

_Genim looked up at her from across the room, grinning when he saw her. Yeah, he was a mommy's boy, definitely. Our son started to crawl over, but as that started to slow, we notice he was starting to stand up. Claudia and I watched, anxiously, hoping that today would be the day; the day that our son took his first steps._

_Genim, wobbly, got to his feet, holding onto the coffee table he was near, standing side on to Claudia. He was still grinning, giggling slightly. Shakily, he stepped closer. This continued slowly until he reached the end of the table. Claudia and I were already grinning that he had made it this far, but this was the moment of truth. Genim looked from the coffee table, then over to Claudia. His smile widening, he let go of the table before running over to his mom, collapsing into her arms. Claudia and I grinned madly, her dark brown eyes shining with tears of joy._

" _He did it! John, he did it!" Claudia gushed, kissing our giggling son. "Oh, Genim! Well done, baby."_

_Where was the time going?_

_**June 26th 1998 – Claudia Stilinski's POV** _

_Genim was now two years and ten months old. He had already started to talk, just babbling away, bless him. Genim loved to talk. Once you got him started, you couldn't stop him. And I encourage that. I loved hearing what he had to say, and he didn't have to be ashamed because he loved to talk so much._

_Even Scott McCall, his best friend and son of my friend Melissa, said that he talked a lot. Scott couldn't actually pronounce Genim's name, so they came up with the nickname 'Stiles'. I was really the only one that called him Genim anymore, but that was fine by me._

" _Mommy, mommy!" a small voice yelled._

_Genim came running into the kitchen, jumping. I was just in time to catch the giggling boy, spinning him around, before placing him on my hip, my arms wrapped tight around him._

" _Look who I found!" he grinned, proud of himself as he showed me what was in his hands._

_For his second birthday, I had bought him a stuffed black wolf-cub cuddly toy. He loved it, took it everywhere he went. When he had lost it a few weeks ago, he was so upset that John and I didn't know what to do. In the end I had told him that Wolfy – the name he gave it – had gone on an adventure and would be back really soon. He brightened up after that, saying he wanted to go on an adventure to, running into the garden._

" _Wolfy's back!" I gasped, pretending to be excited for him, it always warmed my heart o see him like this. "Where was he, baby?"_

" _Under my bed." Genim giggled, speaking a mile a minute. "He was playing hide and seek after his 'venture."_

" _Silly, Wolfy. Hey, how about I make some lunch and we can eat outside today? Would you and Wolfy like that?"_

" _Yeah! Outside, outside, outside!"_

" _Ok, go get the picnic blanket and put it outside ok?"_

_Genim nodded vigorously. As soon as I placed him back on the floor he was running through the house as fast as his little legs could carry him. I just grinned, laughing, at my baby boy._

_I never knew John had left the video camera running._

_**September 1st 2000 – Stiles' POV** _

" _Do I have to?" I asked, as mommy pulled my t-shirt over my head and daddy was filming._

" _Yes, baby. You have to." she smiled warmly. "Scott's going too, so you can play with him."_

_I liked my mommy's smile. Mommy's smile was nice, it made me smile too. I loved my mommy and she loved me. But I didn't want to go to Kindergarten. I wanted to stay at home with mommy and play._

" _But... But..." I started._

" _Stiles, mommy and I have told you." daddy said. "You're a big boy now. And big boy's go o Kindergarten, remember?"_

" _I don't wanna be a big boy!"_

_Mommy and daddy told me to try not to get angry. But it was hard. I couldn't help it. Sometimes I just got angry and my head got all funny. I didn't like it. Mommy looked on the computer and said that we would go see the doctor soon. I didn't want to go. The doctors scared me._

" _Why don't you want to be a big boy?" daddy asked, as mommy held my hands._

"' _Cause then I not be baby 'nymore." I said, quietly._

" _Oh, Genim. You will_ always _be my baby. You will_ always _be daddy's baby. Ok?_ Nothing _can stop you from being our baby."_

_Mommy hugged me. I liked mommy's hugs. They were warm and safe._

" _Promise?" I whispered._

" _We promise, baby." she whispered back. "Now come on, let's get you to school."_

_**August 28th 2001 – Claudia Stilinski's POV** _

_John filmed six year old Genim in our garden. He was wearing a black and yellow Batman t-shirt and denim shorts, his hair was thick and spiked up slightly. He was sitting on a swing, gripping to the metal handles tight, a plaster on his right knee. Our baby had never outgrown his clumsiness, bless him. His head was bent slightly, as if shying away from the camera, smiling coyly._

" _So today, Stiles – aka Genim – was diagnosed with ADHD Hyperactive-Impulsive." John spoke, quietly. "Little guy's been taking the news well and didn't complain when he took his first dose of Adderall, couldn't be more proud of him."_

" _And he's still as perfect as ever." I whispered to myself, but I knew the camera picked me up._

" _That he is, honey. And that's all because of you."_

" _John..."_

" _No, Claudie. It's true. He gets his perfectness from you. And I wouldn't have it any other way."_

_I blushed lightly, turning away from the camera, using my light brown hair as a curtain._

" _He'll be ok, won't he?" I asked, watching my baby boy grin as a butterfly flew past._

" _Of course he will, he's a Stilinski." John laughed, before growing serious. "He as you as a mother. He will be perfectly fine, Claudia."_

_I nodded._

" _So proud." I whispered._

**Back to June 8** **th** **2012 **

I only watched those five pieces of footage. Watching things like that, though making me smile, still hurt sometimes. I still had that bloody wolf toy... I couldn't stand the thought of getting rid of him. Was it sad that I actually brought it with me to Derek's and I was now, currently, sitting on the mattress – with my now closed laptop – with the wolf toy in my hands? No, I didn't think it was either. This toy, apart from pictures or DVDs like the one I had just watched, was the only thing I had left of her. She was the one that bought it for me. Whenever I saw or thought of the toy, I thought of my mom.

Sometimes, when I was having a bad day or I had just woken up from a nightmare or...something, I would always grab Wolfy and just end up falling asleep, hugging it. Seriously. Scott didn't even know about him! Well, he used to; I think...I wasn't sure.

"Why can't this be another one of your 'adventures'?" I asked the black wolf, quietly.

Sighing, I laid down, gripping Wolfy as tight as I could, falling asleep at only 5:46pm. We had a long day ahead of us.


	17. Run

I woke up to the sound of someone softly knocking on the door. It was half eight... I had slept for _fourteen hours_ and _forty four minutes_. That had never happened before! I was normally up until gone three in the morning, sometimes later, tossing and turning – most of the time researching. I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes and yawning slightly.

"Yeah." I mumbled.

The door creaked open, but it took me a short while to actually take notice that it had _been_ opened and someone was standing there. Before I ever decided to properly acknowledge whoever was standing there, I reached to my left, grabbing my Adderall and a bottle of water – and a mint, for now.

"What's up?" I yawned, turning back to the door, voice croaking from lack of use.

Ok, so Derek was now out of his room and had finished – maybe – sulking. Well, that's what it looked like anyway.

"Hey, Fuzz Face." I greeted. "How can I help?"

"What's with the wolf toy?" Derek asked, confused, scrunching his face up in a cute – I did _not_ just use that word! – way.

Tilting my head to the right a little, I looked down at the mattress I was on. Sure enough, Wolfy was lying there next to me. Picking up the stuffed animal, so it was sitting in my lap – still holding it, I brought it close to me. I barely noticed the small, sad smile that had appeared on my face.

"Nothing." I replied. "Again, I ask, how can I help? And dude, this is your house; you don't have to stand outside the room."

Shuffling, Derek walked in, shutting the door behind him. He was fidgeting, which was my thing, not his, and under any other circumstances I would have made fun of him for it.

Slowly, Derek got closer and closer, until he ended up sitting next to me on the mattress. Carefully, he hugged me, putting his face in the crook of my neck and nuzzling like the others always did. I was actually getting used to it, since I've had to give out quite a few hugs. But with the little titbit of information – the Mate thing – it just seemed to be a whole lot more... _different_. Like it carried so much more of a meaning.

"Do you have to?" he whispered, his breath heating my skin up even more.

"Yeah, I do." I replied, trying to sound unaffected.

"I don't like it."

"I know... But I have to. For you guys."

* * *

We – Allison, Derek and I – left the house at nine, leaving Lydia and Danny to look after the Betas. Allison followed the smell of Victoria cruziana's, Derek followed the smell of his old and new pack, and I did the same for my mom's perfume. I wouldn't admit how much I actually missed the fruity smell, and I would never admit to nor deny that after she passed away that I stole the half used bottle of perfume from her and dad's room at home, putting it in one of my draws in my room.

We followed our noses – oh, how I wish this was the time to make dog jokes – getting more excited and nervous as the scent grew stronger. The best thing about having a werewolf with you? They could help with the direction of the scent. Especially is said wolf happened to be an Alpha, born a werewolf and had _a lot_ more training than anyone else.

"Due North, not too far from here." Derek said, stopping Allison and me, after twenty five minutes of walking. "Best place to do it would be here. At least then we'll have time to catch it."

We nodded. I stood where I was, waiting until Derek was to my right and Allison was to my left, since we didn't know which way the Filius would be coming from. I waited until that both indicated that they were ready before I did anything. Not that I knew what to do. So I did the first thing that came to mind:

"Verto me in puer rursus." I muttered in Latin, which I think translated to 'turn me into a child again'.

It was worth a go, and it wasn't as if I had any other ideas on how to say 'Yo, come bite me'. Besides, it was from Rome, we had to translate Latin... It could work. But how I knew _that_ in Latin, I will never know!

There was a small rustle, almost like a small wind brushing past the leaves. But there was no wind that day. Which only mean one thing... I didn't see it appear. Hell, Allison didn't either! This was another reason why it was so good to have a werewolf on your team! Now, you see, you think it would have been easy, now we had it in the box.

_WRONG!_

No, it was jumping all over the place, making little holes in the side of the box. If we didn't get back to Derek's house soon, then we'd be screwed. The problem was, that Filius would probably lose enough of the box to escape before we even got close to the house. So we did the only logical thing.

We ran!

* * *

Derek struggled to keep the Filius in the box. But he was the strongest here, even with the 'creature-from-the-black-lagoon' draining his energy. To be honest, I was wondering how this had been so easy. Surely it shouldn't be so easy...

But that's when I collapsed to the ground, suddenly unable to keep myself standing. I felt dizzy and sick; I was slipping slowly into unconsciousness. My eyes were getting heavier. I felt detached from my own body. It was as if I was having a panic attack, but I wasn't. I could hear my own breathing, _see_ my own breathing. I could hear my own heart beat drowning out all other sounds. It was as if I was under water; every other sound was muffled and far away. I tried to get up, but nothing work. So I lifted my head up – with a lot of difficulty.

That's when _it_ came back. The _thing_ that was pretending to be my mom. The hallucination. But there were more. Alongside the hallucination of my mom there were hallucinations of: my dad, seventeen year old Scott, twenty two year old Derek, and ten year old _me_.

" _Oh, Genim."_ the things imitating my parents chuckled. _"Poor pathetic, defenceless, weak, worthless Genim."_

" _Dude, talk about stupid. Look what you did to me!"_ fake-Scott glared. _"You call yourself my bro? Please! You're the worst friend going."_

" _Of all people, I got landed with you? I knew I screwed up, but this much?"_ fake-Derek scoffed. _"Even_ I _don't think I deserve this as a punishment."_

" _Wow, I never thought I would end up as such a loser."_ fake-ten-year-old-me sighed. _"I mean, the ADHD is one thing. But being the reason mom died and having dad blame us? Having our friends resent us? What have we even done right? We don't even matter."_

"Shut up." I whispered.

I, wobbly, pushed myself up to a sitting position, keeping my eye on the slightly shimmering figures in front of me. They walked closer and closer, one step at a time.

" _Pathetic, defenceless, weak and worthless."_

"Shut up." I repeated, voice a little stronger as something touched me.

" _Pathetic, defenceless, weak and worthless."_

They surrounded me, a tight circle that was cutting out any light that could have been in the wooded area. They just repeated the same sentence over and over and over, building a steady rhythm. I could almost hear the steady pulse of a drum. The volume rose until I could hear nothing else. My breathing escalated again, as did my heart rate. I felt even more detached from my body, vision blurring just a little.

"SHUT UP!" I yelled, gripping the sides of my head in my hands.

Then... Nothing.


	18. Metal Case

**Derek**

Allison and I were panicking. We had no idea what had happened with Stiles, but now... Now he wasn't waking up! I place the box ender my left arm, pressing the lid against my side, as I slipped my right arm under Stiles', helping Allison to lift him up.

My wolf was howling like mad, making me want to ball the box up – with the creature inside it- and launch it into an active volcano. But I couldn't. And it was so hard to try and not let my wolf get the better of me. So, I gritted my teeth together and focused on getting Stiles back to the house.

"What even happened back there?" Allison asked, voice quiet and shaky.

"I don't know." I replied – I will refuse to admit it was a whimper right now. "He hasn't acted like this since Thursday...with the hallucinations."

"You don't think he..."

"I think he did..."

"He could be like this for a week, Derek!"

"He won't."

"How do you know?"

"Because this time, I won't let him!"

I knew I sounded desperate and scared, but I didn't care. It was _Stiles_. There had always been something about the strange kid with ADHD that my wolf was drawn too. I thought it was because he reminded me of this one human kid from my old Pack... I thought that was why my wolf had started to accept Stiles before I did. But then my wolf had figured out that Stiles was our Mate. I remember freaking out, because it's...it's _Stiles_ , and his dad's the Sherriff! Sure, his dad knows everything now, but he's still wary around me. But that pull had been to strong. And then this happened! I was starting to act more like my seventeen year old self: naive, vulnerable... I trusted a lot of people back when I was younger; I had this idea of how the world was... After the fire, I had realised that I had just been fooling myself. But now it was back again because of this _thing_ , I had told Stiles he was my Mate _and_ now it had done something to Stiles – because, come on, it was the Filius that did this, it had to have something to do with this.

* * *

Danny had immediately taken over from me when we reached the house, so I could find a better place to put the Filius. Luckily we had this thick metal case – don't ask, you don't want to know, werewolf stuff and all –, which I put the box containing the Filius in before locking the padlock of the case. That _should_ be able to hold it.

"What happened?!" Scott asked, worried, running over to his unconscious best friend.

"We don't know." I mumbled.

"We think it might have been the hallucinations again." Allison added. "He was screaming for something to shut up, but we were the only ones there."

"Do you think it was his mom again?" Lydia wondered.

"Whatever it was, it was more than just his mom." I said, slumping down onto the floor, leaning against the couch that Stiles had been placed onto.

I didn't like waiting. Waiting for someone to wake up was one of the worst things... I remember, right after the fire, when Laura and I would do that with Peter. I remember sitting on my bed in New York, when Laura took me over there, waiting to wake up from such an awful nightmare... Waiting for my mom to wake me up and hug me and tell me that it was just a silly dream. Now I had to sit there and wait again. Wait for Stiles to wake up. Because he _would_ wake up. If I had something to do about it, then he _would_ wake up!

I sat there, listening to the others talk about what he could have seen, trying to understand what made him freak out so much. Lydia had gone back to the book, to see if there was she and Stiles had missed. But I couldn't concentrate on anything they were saying or actually register properly any of their movements. Which was why I jumped a little when one of the Betas – Isaac – started hugging me. He managed to sneak up to my right and wrap his arms around my neck, burying his face in my neck. Jackson was next, doing the same on my left; then Scott, Erica and Boyd came over at the same time, trying to find a place to fit in. It reminded me how, when I was a little kid, if anyone was acting out of sorts, everyone would somehow just be drawn to them, wanting to make them feel better. It was always one of my favourite things about Pack. But because of how I was, we never did that. Until now.

Yeah, we would be doing the hugging thing a lot more now.

* * *

Stiles had been unconscious for two hours, and I had tried everything to wake him up. Allison, Danny and Lydia had ended up taking the Betas outside, because I had started to get so frustrated. I didn't stop, even after all of my other attempts had proven to be of no help. But hey, Stiles never gave up on us, so why should I give up now?

Another hour went by... Nothing happened.

Half an hour after that? Nothing.

Fifteen minutes after that? Nothing

Five minutes after that? WE HAD MOVEMENT!

Stiles shifted slightly where he lay, sure it was small but it was still movement! Almost four hours had passed since the incident in the woods, but he was slowly coming back!

Ok, so maybe things could go right for a change.

* * *

**Stiles**

I guess I had a thing about passing out, what with how many times I had done it this holiday. My head didn't hurt this time, thank God, but I was still a little confused. All I remembered was being surrounded by the hallucinations and... And then I was in the living room of Derek's house.

I sat up slowly, just in time to take the glass of water that was thrusted into my hand. I glanced up to catch the worried, yet grinning, Derek watching me, looking relieved. This was still creepy, but it didn't feel creepy in a bad way.

"Um... Hi." I said awkwardly, taking a sip of the water. "Thanks... For the water I mean."

"It's fine. You ok? You've been out for over four hours. What happened back there?" Derek rushed, grin fading after the first question.

I blinked rapidly, trying to get my brain to catch up. When it finally did, I recalled everything that had happened – well, apart from a few things that were said. It's not like I was lying, really. Derek hugged me – which I wouldn't be able to get used to – telling me that it was all lies. I just agreed to save time.

"So, where's the..." I started.

"Metal case." Derek interrupted.

"Well... At least we have another use for that now..."

Derek smiled a little – something else I wouldn't be able to get used to. I was about to get up, so we could start the destruction of this mother fucker, when I saw _them_ again.


	19. Setting Fire To Myself

**Stiles**

"What's wrong?!" Derek asked, starting to panic again.

Of course he would, he would hear the rise in my heartbeat. I watched as all of them, every single one of them, started to merge together. Until I was left with just one.

"I-It's there." I whispered, not taking my eyes off of it.

"What?! Where?!" Derek demanded.

"B-By the metal case."

"Which one?"

I stared at it, wondering what the hell it was going to say now. How it was going to make me feel this time. I didn't want this happen now, not yet! I still felt dizzy and confused from waking up, and this hallucination – this _shimmering_ hallucination – was making it worse!

But it didn't say anything. Just stood there. Watching me. Head tilted to the side. Every now and then it would look over at Derek with a curious look, before turning back to me, glaring slightly while smirking. Its eyes were lifeless, blank, almost black with how dark they were. That was one of the ways I knew it wasn't – _couldn't_ – be real. But all the things it had said before...

"Stiles!" Derek called. "Stiles, which one is it?"

I shook my head. How could I explain that it was me that I saw? The ten year old version of me. That would make me sound bat-shit crazy! So I said nothing, just staring at it.

Slowly, it walked closer. When it was only a few meters away, I started to press myself back into the couch, continuing even when my back hit the back of it. The smirk on its face grew as it saw me trying to keep as much distance between us as possible, almost as if it was proud of itself, like this was some sort of great accomplishment.

As soon as I was as far back as the couch would allow, my eyes widened as I still tried to get as far away as possible. That's when there was this warm, solid weight around me, dragging me closer to something equally warm and solid. Glancing in the direction I was being pulled out – having a mini freak out, since I had no idea what it was at that moment – I just saw a concerned looking Derek. It was strange how it made me relax slightly, knowing that I wasn't the only one there. Knowing that someone was there to help. And when I looked back to where shimmering ten year old me was, it was no longer there.

This was _not_ going to be easy.

* * *

To say I was attacked by little people when the Betas came back inside, was an understatement. There was no word to describe how I was bowled over onto the couch, after having stood up, being – and I hate to say the word – _nuzzled_ by five people that were, usually, older than me.

If anyone could tell that there was something wrong, they didn't mention it. If they saw me staring off into space, though I knew I was staring at the hallucination of ten year old me, they didn't say anything. But I knew that, when this was all over, I was going to be bombarded with questions. I sighed, when I realised that when this was all over that was exactly what would happen.

"Right." I breathed, standing up, once the Betas had released me. "Let's burn this mother fucker. I need to do good on my promise, don't I?"

Isaac and Jackson both smiled from where they sat of the couch, nodding a little. Breathing deeply, I walked into the kitchen, right past the metal case, heading straight towards the cupboard that contained the pots and pans. I shuffled through the cupboard, until I found the largest pot, placing it on the hob of the stove, filling it with water and turning the hob on.

" _You don't think this is going to work."_ fake-child me said, sitting on top of the fridge. _"I mean, come on, when has anything you thought of worked? Might as well give up now."_

I ignored it – tried my best anyway – and carried on with the task at hand. It may surprise you, but sometimes I could actually concentrate on one task – though it was always very rare that that had ever happened.

" _Nothing you set your mind to ever works. You decided to make mom better, did that work out?"_ it continued. _"Did helping Scott ever work? Did getting Lydia to fall in love with you work? Has falling in love with Derek worked for you? Has it?"_

Ignoring, ignoring, ignoring!

" _It hasn't. We both know that. Everything you do, fails. I'm surprised dad hasn't dropped dead because of you yet."_

So, yeah, it was getting harder to ignore the asshat. But I was trying. No matter if I agreed with it or not.

* * *

After a while, the water started to boil. For the whole time, I had been pestered by the little shit that was ten year old me, taunting me and saying everything I only ever thought about. Hearing it all said out loud...well, that just made it all the more real. All the more true. But I just continued to ignore it. I would continue to ignore everything until everyone was back to normal.

I didn't have to say anything for Derek, Allison and Lydia to walk in, bringing the metal case with the Filius in with them – Danny staying with the Betas. We had already figured out how we were going to do this. They were going to stand on either side of me in-case the little fucker decided to make its great escape, while I used a pair of tongs to put it into the Jacuzzi of death. Derek lifted the metal case onto the counter next to him, standing on my left, while Allison and Lydia stood to my right.

"Ready?" Derek asked, wrapping his hand around the key in the padlock.

I nodded, holding my breath. I heard the click of the lick sliding out of place. The clink of metal as the padlock fell onto the counter. I grabbed the tongs tightly in my hand, placing them near the case. Derek had said that the Filius had already ripped through the box he had trapped it in earlier, so it was only being contained by the metal case... I was going to have to act quickly for this.

Derek opened the lid to the case a little, enough for me to stick the tongs in. As soon as they were in, and my hand, I heard this horrible growling-screeching noise. I tried to grab it with the tongs, but not being able to see it was a huge disadvantage. Not to mention, it seemed to love attacking the tongs and _me_ with its freaking claws! It hurt, a lot, but I wasn't going to let that put me off. So, I just moved the tongs around until, after a few minutes, I felt something between the arm-things. Immediately, I squeezed the arm-things as hard as I could, making sure that it couldn't escape. I looked towards Derek, letting him know that I had it, to which he opened the lid properly so I could remove it and – quickly – shove it in the pot. I didn't remove the tongs from the pot, since I would have to take it out at some point. But I didn't expect the pain.

It was as if I was being burnt, the searing pain shooting up my arms and sides, almost making my legs give way. They would have given way if Derek hadn't put an arm around my waist, keeping me upright. I looked around; trying to find the source of what was burning me, because it sure as hell wasn't the water! That was when I saw it. Ten year old me, grinning, a hand placed on my shoulder. The more pressure the little fucker put on it, the more it felt like I was going to be burnt alive! I wondered for a second if hallucinations could touch you; if they could make you feel like this. Then I remembered it was _my_ hallucination. Of course it could! But I had to keep going. I couldn't stop now.

"Stiles, now." Lydia told me, though she sounded so distant.

As quick as I could, without dropping the Filius, I took it out of the pot. Allison had already opened the back door – thank God it was in the kitchen – while Lydia grabbed the salt and lighter. Derek helped me outside when I almost dropped to the floor, also giving me a hand in keeping the Filius in the tongs.

As soon as we were all outside and a safe way away from the house, I took the salt from Lydia and poured some onto it. I didn't stop until it started to sizzle and smoke. Lydia took the salt away from me, handing me the lighter before moving back towards the house where Allison was. Derek was the only one that stayed by me, despite the experience he had with fire near his home. I fumbled with the lighter as I tried to start the flame. My vision had started to go blurry, making the task at hand so much harder.

In the end, Derek took the lighter from me, starting the flame before handing it back to me. Without hesitation, I set the little monster alight like a firework on the fourth of July. Only then did I register the loud high pitched shriek and the black and green oozy smoke coming from the thing in front of me. But not only that. Beside me, I watched as the younger version of me was engulfed in flames, staring at me with wide fearful eyes, backing away as soon as I looked over. Although no sound came out of the hallucinations mouth, I could tell quiet clearly what it was soundlessly yelling. Just two words. ' _Help! Mommy, help!'_

That was when Derek collapsed to the ground. I let go of the tongs as I fell with him, but the Filius was already dead and fire dying out, so I didn't worry about it. Instead I tried to get the unconscious Alpha up – while still in pain and not a hundred per cent vision – to get him back inside.


	20. Smiling Pictures

We set Derek down in his armchair as soon as we were all back in the house. Once we set the Alpha down, I looked around at the other passed out wolves. Boyd and Erica on the couch they usually dibsed, while Jackson and Scott sat opposite ends of one of the other couches, Isaac stretched out on the other. Whoa... Déjà vu, much!

"Well, this is good right?" Danny asked from where he sat on the floor, by Isaac. "I mean, this happened before they were turned younger."

"It's a good sign, I guess." Allison agreed, sitting on the arm of the couch by Scott, playing with his hair. "Though the wait might be longer this time."

"Well, when I was reading through the book again, I noticed I missed something." Lydia spoke, sitting on the other side of the couch, doing the same to Jackson as Allison was to Scott. "It was right at the bottom in small print, but it takes seventeen hours for them to turn back to normal. So, that won't be until around seven tomorrow morning."

Sighing, I sat up on the floor – I couldn't be asked to stay lying down any more – closing my eyes. I still felt dizzy and horrible and like I was being burnt alive, but it wasn't as bad now as it was earlier. I kept expecting to see the younger me pop out of nowhere, or my mom, or dad, or Scott, or Derek... Just one of them to appear and make those comments again. But they didn't. Lydia had explained how the Filius can affect people like that, especially if it was the person who could kill them. Thinking back on it, the first time the hallucination appeared was when I had almost found the page on it in one of the books.

I stood up, mumbling something about taking a shower as I walked up the stairs and into the room I had been using for the past week and six days. As I waited for the water in the shower to reach a good temperature, I thought about what Allison, Lydia and I had talked about the day before.

' _Stiles, you cannot say that, after this all over and done with, when Derek is back to normal, that you won't_ _finally_ _just give in. When he's back to being twenty-two again, he will so totally be the same as he is now. Then we can celebrate that the wool has been removed from your eyes, and that you two would have gotten together, at last.'_

That's what Lydia had said. But it wouldn't be that simple. Like I had told them this is real life, not a story, it's not a fairytale where everyone gets a happy ending. That only happens for the very lucky few in the world. After all of this, Derek will just go back to being broody and grumpy, slamming me into walls and threatening to rip my throat out with his teeth... That's how my life was. Anytime there seemed to be just a little bit of hope, it was torn away in a blink of an eye.

I mean, my mom... There was a point where she had started to get better. We thought that she was going to make it... Then I walked into her and dad's room one morning – dad was at work – and she was laying there, dead.

Since then I realised that nothing could go right. That's when I had learnt and accepted that not everything turns out how you want it to; you never get the happy ending that you so desperately want. No matter how many times you read the fairytales, no matter how many times you wish on stars. No matter how many times you promise to change if something, for once, goes the way you want it to.

The night before had been the first time I had said anything like that to anyone. Not even my dad knew how I felt about that. It was easier to keep it to myself and just be the hyperactive mouth guy I was, because that was all I could and would ever be. It wasn't like I was going to rein it in to get someone to consider going out with me.

Besides, mom always told me that I should never change for anyone. That if they couldn't accept me for whom I was they weren't a real friend. When I was a kid, even when she was ill, she would always tell me that I was ' _perfect; mommy's perfect little man_ '. My mom was the only one that really put up with all my craziness before I was diagnosed, since dad had to work so much, but they always said that they didn't care; that it was part of who I was and they loved everything about me, good or bad, no matter what anyone else thought. Who was I to go against what she told me?

* * *

I walked out of the shower an hour later, but I wasn't any more relaxed or happy as I had been before I stepped into it. I slipped into some joggers, an old baggy t-shirt, my red hoodie and socks, before grabbing my laptop and walking back downstairs.

Scott, dad and me were the only ones that knew that my mom was the reason I started to wear red hoodies. When I was a little kid, about five, she bought me my first proper hoodie, and it had been red. The exact red of the one I had on at that moment. The one I had when I was five was too big for me, but I loved it none the less, wearing it every day. I only ever took it off when I had to.

Back in the living room, I found that Allison, Danny and Lydia had all put on a move – Mama Mia seemed to be the choice. It wasn't my favourite film, but it was alright, I guess. So, sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall between one of the couches and Derek's chair, I watched the movie with the others. I noticed that they had all moved. Danny was now sitting on the couch, with Isaac's head resting on his lap, running his hand through his hair – seriously, they were sickeningly sweet! Allison and Lydia had now moved onto the floor, sitting in front of the middle of the couch, next to their respective boyfriends – Mates? Boyfriends? Oh, I don't even know anymore! – resting a hand near them.

I turned away from them, looking down at my laptop. I placed it on a cushion in my lap, switching it on. As soon as it had all loaded up, I opened the file I had saved all my pictures in scrolling through every single one. The ones with my mom and dad, the ones with Scott, the ones with the Pack – yeah, we got _Derek_ to take pictures _with_ us! Pictures of birthdays, Christmas', Thanksgivings, other holidays. Even of Pack bonding things. I couldn't help but to take pictures of the puppy piles, before I got dragged into them myself. These weren't even the only copies. As well as saving them onto my laptop, I had printed them all out and placed them into photo albums. I had even organised the picture into categories based on the occasion! It took me awhile, and I was still adding to them as time went on, but I had them all finished.

I was surprised when I found one picture though. It was from a Pack bonding thing back in December – on the 27th, after dad and Melissa had found out about the Pack. It was snowing, so we all went outside. I never noticed, until now, that Derek had smiled in this picture...

_**FLASHBACK – Tuesday 27** _ _**th** _ _**December 2011** _

" _Come on, Derek!" Isaac begged, holding his new camera. "Please! I want to try it out!"_

" _No." Derek growled._

_I noticed how Isaac's face fell. This was the first proper Christmas he had ever had, with a real family that was his. He had asked for nothing, because he didn't know what he wanted, not used to ever getting what he would like. That just made all of us – especially me – work even harder to give him the best Christmas ever! Hell, this was probably the first time he could even enjoy the snow! But now, he was being denied the one thing he had actually asked for, and that was to test out the new digital camera that Derek had got him by taking a picture of the Alpha – his guardian – himself. That was just not fair!_

_So, I decided to help the guy out. I was already standing quite close, and for this I only needed a short run up. And that's what I did. I ran over to the Alpha, from behind, jumping onto his back when I was close enough. The snow and the yells of everyone else had drowned out my, so Derek had stumbled a little in surprise, even flailing slightly. I had my arms wrapped around his neck and I pressed my knees into his side as hard as I could – it wouldn't hurt him anyway – to prevent falling off, laughing and grinning widely. There was a bright flash and a victorious yell from the Beta with the camera, just before I was thrown onto the thick snow. I couldn't even care less! Derek walked off then, grumbling and scowling. I just rolled my eyes as Isaac helped me up._

" _Thanks, dude." I breathed, coming down from my laughing high."_

" _No, thank you!" Isaac grinned, looking even more like a puppy than usual. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gotten the picture!"_

" _No problem, just do me a favour?"_

" _Sure!"_

" _Send me all the pictures you take? No matter when you take them."_

" _Yeah, I can do that!"_

_Isaac then ran off, taking more and more pictures of the Pack. Some moaned, some couldn't care less, but they all indulged the guy. Danny though was more than willing to let his boyfriend take pictures – seriously, head over heels he was._

_I just smiled as I looked around at them. My extended family, as I had taken to calling them._

_**END OF FLASHBACK – back to Saturday 9** _ _**th** _ _**June 2012** _

How could I not realise that he had been smiling in this picture? How could I never see it before? _Never mind that, how come we never saw him smile like this?!_ I mean, sure, he smiled in this picture, and he had smiled at points during this whole situation, but we had never seen him smile when he was his normal twenty two year old self! And he should! It made him look so much younger...and so much more attractive... Seriously, it did, I wasn't even joking! I mean, have you _seen_ Derek smile?!

At that moment, I was kind of glad that the wolves weren't awake. They would be getting all nosey if they weren't unconscious. I allowed myself to smile a little, and continued to flip through the pictures. This time, I really looked at them, finding that there were so many more that Derek was smiling in...all of them when I had jumped in to help out with getting him to let a picture be taken of him.

"Hey, Stiles." Danny's voice broke me out of my thoughts. "Wanna choose the next movie?"

"Er, yeah. Sure." I nodded.

I walked over to the small stack of films that Derek had, pulling out a Pack favourite. Thor. It was one way to – try – take our minds off of waiting.


	21. Heading Home

I don't know when we had fallen asleep. Last thing I remembered was finishing watching Thor, having dinner and then starting to watch Dirty Dancing – Lydia's choice. Next thing I know I'm waking up to the main menu of Dirty Dancing at – around 6:50 in the morning. Everyone else was still asleep, and the wolves still weren't back to their normal selves.

Sighing, I walked up stairs to use the bathroom, not bothering to change – I was comfy – or run a comb through my hair. I swallowed some Adderall as I walked back down, heading for the kitchen. They'd all be hungry when they woke up, so I might as well start on breakfast. So I made pancakes. I turned on the radio, letting it play softly as I baked, singing along quietly and dancing my way from one side of the kitchen to the other. I liked to sing and dance – apparently I was quite good. No one, apart from mom and dad and a few other people that were not friends or family, knew I sang...or danced...or, hell, played guitar. But I did. I loved it. Those were three of the things that actually grabbed my attention, three things I didn't get distracted from doing. If no one was around and I was home alone, I would grab my guitar and start to play and sing, or I would grab my laptop so I could sing and dance to songs that I played from YouTube. It relaxed me. It made me feel closer to my parents. Mom used to sing all the time and always used to dance with me. Dad taught me how to play guitar and used to take mom dancing before I was born.

It was when Jason Mraz's 'I Won't Give Up' came on the radio that I started to smile. I would happily it was one of my favourite songs, always making me happier when I heard it. I would happily sing along to it, any day that it came on. So, as I sang along to one of my happy songs, I continued to make pancakes for when everyone woke up.

* * *

I had just finished the fourth batch when I heard it. A loud and high pitched _'Oh my God!'_ Confused, I walked back into the living room, freezing in the doorway. Looking at the clock in the living room, I saw it read 7:30am. I stood there, wide eyed.

It had worked.

They were back to normal – and, thankfully, dressed in their clothes.

It _worked_!

I didn't snap out of my shocked state until I was being hugged by Erica and Boyd, one either side of my. As soon as they let go, Scott crashed into me. Isaac and Jackson were the last, the two of them hugging me the tightest. All of them whispered their thanks in my ear, but it sounded like so much more than that. I wondered if it was a dream, but the fact that I couldn't breathe because of the wolf strength proved otherwise. But _man_ was it welcome!

It was so not my fault that the next thing that happened was a giant Pack group hug. Well, it would have been, if Derek wasn't standing in the corner, as expressionless as ever. I was distracted though when I could feel that damn nuzzling again, making me laugh now that they were now all older than me.

"Ok, let go now." I chuckled. "Otherwise the pancakes will get cold."

And yes, I was so going to use how fast the Betas ran into the kitchen as blackmail.

* * *

It turned out that they remembered everything. Every single little thing. Which meant they remembered everything I had said. Which meant Derek remembered kissing me... But none of them said anything about that.

After the pancakes had all disappeared, Derek had gone upstairs and locked himself in his room, scowling all the way – of course. I noticed the looks on Allison and Lydia's faces, noticed how they looked so confused. I shrugged when they looked to me.

"Like I said," I sighed. "This is real life, not a story."

With that I had left the kitchen, leaving the plates where they were. No one followed me as I went upstairs and no one asked where I was going. They probably thought I was going to talk to Derek of something. If they did, then they were wrong. It was obvious he didn't want to talk; it was obvious he wanted to forget it all.

So, they were all surprised when I came down a few minutes later, bags over my shoulder as I headed towards the front door.

"Stiles?" came Isaac's confused voice. "Where are you going?"

"Home." I said, turning to face him. "Gotta see if my dad's alright, don't I?"

"You... You're coming back. Right?"

I sighed, shifting the bags on my shoulder.

"I don't know." I admitted. "I haven't seen my dad at all, and I really want to spend some time with him. But I promise we'll hang out again before school starts again."

Isaac nodded, looking down at the ground. I left without saying another word. If I stayed any longer than someone – if not Isaac – would convince me to stay. But I couldn't. I really did want to spend time with my dad, but I couldn't stay there when I still had a lot to think about.

So I left.

I didn't know if I would go back anytime soon.

But I left.

I jumped in my Jeep, turned on the ignition, pulled away from the house, and headed home.


	22. Author's Note

**Heyo! XD**

**So this is the end of this story, sad times :( But a sequel has been started XD To find it, please look on my profile, it will say in the summary** *sequel to When You Were Young*

 **The sequel is called:** I Won't Give Up

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favourited this story, I really appreciate it XD**

**You are all amazing awesome and I hope you all read the sequel :)**

**Hope I hear from you all soon :)**

_**THANK YOU** _ _**SO MUCH!** _

**Author's Note:**

> Please review XD  
> Thanks XD


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